European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse To understand the mystique of the Alpini. You have to understand something of the mountains. They ate nol thou Tii Otas isl mountains says italian historian Gianni Pieropan Raplh a passion thai holies his 75 years. They arc in mountains. mountains where Iho Black Eagle flies mountains ought Over bid and died in consecrated As sacred. Places say Iho Alpini and even historians gel a Lillic carried away say the word Atyim in Northern Italy today. And the Eye of the listener is Likely to Lake on a proud re team thai goes Back to the Lima of struggle to world War i. There s an old song ataul the Alpini and the Mool Lour it Over Moi Plain in thai War. Oft Ito Road to mount pasullo Bobof Ombon bom . Stavft a column of sold two is going up. Bomboro Morfi bom / m the Maucri of Troso Nho nil never conic Back 0 Liose who will s Lay to die tip there on the lop Bui the Alippi have no Leto no Tomboy m is is Lief mat it there is a place thai has t been Loughl our Man Wilt eventually find it even in he has Tod info Caily to heaven to do it but even Lor Iho great hearted. Large lunged Mountain fighter s. The waging of War up Ihorn m i lie craggy peaks of perpetual Winter separating Italy lion Austria would Lisl their Heads logs and the rest i Shnir beings Down to the chill of their Bone marrow it was nil a place logo to a Toa party. And shivering warm weather la slanders by Len Anlo As it they had been trans ported to another dreadful piano. The aus lilians head the highest peaks. And the italians seemed lobe attacking Uphill they would have to con cider Iho babies before attacking the really by 5 toys. Iho High Alps ,. Re listening peaks that leached upward like Diamond fingers into ghostly mists ,. Snow backed giants Hal rolled on and on like Greal White whales i i trough Clouds in the Clouds. Soldiers hacked. Trenches into solid Rock and Ier huge tunnels and caves were carved Sirilo the ribs of Granite with picks jackhammers o Plosives massive mines were planted lha blew the lops off whole mountains aval Anching soldiers Mio deep Snow Graves i hat arc Stilt Heiny disco fed to this Day. Men lighting hand to hand looked Al each Olner and won plunging into nowhere. The Frozen dead who Sre dug Oul look As they m Al the moment of death it boomed prehistoric up i hero men struggle of and fought Asil by tools and claw. They Loughl along the edges of Clif is. Across Slippery or cols and ridges and trom a White Peak to while Peak Vith Clark valleys in Between. Lose the Peak and they be lost the Valley or Tost i he Vila pass i Hough the mountains a squad shooting irom Iho Highl a could Boulle up a regime no below. Standing thousands of feel in the air a Soldier could be so complo Lely Serroi ind cd by icy fog he seemed lobe staring Irinio while Infinity one bad step could carry him to the top of mount past Rombom bom. Bomboro Eliom under inc a firsts tic enemy Lias Laid a Greal Somborn 1 Bomboro born. There arc inc Alpine who top i dying find hoping. To soon go Home and lint a Loti Lave. Bui. The Alpini Hava no tear. Bomb Rombom and Hannibal May have crossed Hie Alps with their armies but neither stayed to Light year found m the blinding Snow and wailing wind -. Historian Pieropan says that Success in elemental Mountain War. Where i to lowly but. Mighty mule i was More valued than the fancy machine came Down to several basics. Those who were successful Best know and used sections of the awesome towering terrain that in peacetime had sue Mcd impenetrable to Man or beast. Success also Dupon ded on which Side s men. And beasts could Best haul and hoist inc big guns. Olten Picoc by backbreaking pieced up Iho mountains into Iho highest positrons to Besl shoot Down Tho. Enemy s Throat even then it necessary to shoot 0 a. Curve accurately. Arcing mortars and shells a Vair icy Pinnacles and ridges in order to reach the foe since in was impossible to launch human wave at lacks Over such mountains lha swarming Bayonet Chagos Lupica of the Neslein front wore nol used. Instead smaller units often mane Vered like Mou Nairi goals to outflank the other. Finally stresses Pieropan. Who has Heiselt fought much in the mountains it came Down to which Side s individual Soldier could not Only endure but also master the physically brutal Lite. When soft City boys and Plains div Ellers went up Loiry to live and Light above the Snow line in was like feeding pigeons to she Hawks. Only men in the Mold of Iho Lallian Alpini and the austrian Jogn Korps. Otten born and bred in the mountains seemed Able to really Lake in. Even then a i times the Clements were so overwhelmingly miserable that the Point of the War became lost in the howling storms. There Are stories of austrians and italians lighting for a Peak who called desperate truce seven became tronds of sorts Una re the misery from inc sky was past until inc wind the cycad Tho Momient was gone and then they went Back to their Normal lighting. Former Alpini Giuseppe Delorenzi. Says living in the mountains changes everything everything is different from the Plains. The Way you walk Bro Jive. Fight. Everything is harder. V. After 1 or 15 Hows of marching and climbing you nay have advanced one Hall mile up arid too Yards los Ward the Arpini had nol much Good equipment. The Alpini of today still Don t. All they have is s son Franco also an sex a Pini says it is impossible to conquer the mountains even it you Are a hero. You must live with the up Iii of the mount girls. 1 Wake up and. See the mountains Ai around in Dot is Lika another Mother Lomo. When i Don t see the mountains i lout gloom inside. I can Tell you in my lather Dies in the mountains Hewill die very happy.". On the Road of mount Pas Ubia -. Boina Somborn bom . A Cross is All ital remains. Borr Boromeo n bom. Bombosi Mbom v .,.- you cannot hear a single voice. Only Tutt wind which toners buit Lio a pint Havo no Rombom bom. Hie Alpini have no tear. The lop of Pii Subio blown up May 34. 1315. Sallied Hack Down remain Utility similar to ils former formation. More Hart 500 Alpini Milost their lives,.many inns tinder a Wood Chapperon the Bank of the Piave River talks about world wart. Is Kin glow just downriver a. Visitor finds a battered old Shell casing through the tangles of Brush and Trees a 65 year old Wood chopper wan calloused funds Lika Granite and a solid weathered lace that looks As if it was Hen from the Trees around him. Tits on a log taking a breather yes he says his lather Loughl m that War a lot of bombs and shells fell around Here he says smiling watching tha Sun glint Oft lha Gray Muddy Swilly moving River Hal saw so much Battle up tha Piave a couple of Miles. He says they dug up an unexploded world War i bomb just two months ago. Yes. To nods much lighting much fighting nol far away is a six tool High Sheet of Black steel with the words noting that on this spol Ernest Hemingway a Volunteer of the amen can red Cross became wounded on lha night of july 8,1958." hem s first War did t last Long. He went through a lot of Pam and he could Havo lost his legs and his life but it a turned into wonderful material Lor a Young writer of his he had found the action. And his Luck As he put it was tunning very Good. Hemingway in 1s18, recuperating from wounds. Sunday april 16,1989 the stars and stripes Page 17
