CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Eventually, we came to a river. The water was too deep for us to cross, so we looked for a bridge. Following the road that ran alongside the water, we finally came upon a crossing. However, the bridge had been destroyed. A little further down, there was a bridge for trains that was still crossable.

"Tenente," started Bonello, "that bridge could have bombs on it. Should we take the chance?"

"If you are so afraid," I said, "I'll cross first."

As I crossed, I looked carefully for anything that might look like a bomb, but found nothing. About half way across, I heard a sound to my left. Turning to look, I saw a car crossing another bridge that was a little further down from ours. Inside were seated four German soldiers. Luckily, they did not seem to notice us. When I got to the other side, I motioned with my hand for the drivers to come quickly. When they reached me, I whispered for them to get down behind some bushes.

"What's wrong, Tenente?" asked Aymo.

"I saw a car full of Germans."

Just then, a small group of young German soldiers crossed the other bridge on bikes. Two groups then followed behind, each with about twelve soldiers.

"How can they be here?" I asked angrily, "Didn't anyone try to fight them away? I can't believe they didn't destroy this bridge."

I calmed down and thought about our situation. I had not been successful getting the medical equipment to Pordenone, but I would make sure to get my men there. I took a long drink of the wine from my water bottle and then told them to follow me. We climbed up the riverbank, and followed the train tracks. The town of Udine was very near. We could see its buildings towering over the trees nearby.

"Jesus! Get down!" Aymo whispered.

Again, some German soldiers could be seen approaching on bikes. We dropped to the ground, but it was clear that they had seen us.

"That's strange," said Bonello, "Why aren't they coming after us? They saw us."

"I don't know. Maybe they are looking for someone else." I answered.

We continued along the train tracks until we heard guns being fired up ahead. If we went to the north, we would end up exactly where we had seen so many Germans on their bikes. We could not just run through the fields toward Udine. We would be shot for certain. No, the best way would be to go to the south, where there were more trees. There, we could make our way slowly to the town. The four of us began to run in that direction when suddenly, a bullet landed in the mud near our feet.

"Back up! Get down to the bottom of the railroad hill!" I shouted.

Two more guns fired and Aymo fell to the ground. We pulled him down the hill. I turned him over and saw that he had been shot in the back of the head. The bullet had exited through his right eye. I tried to stop the bleeding, but he died quickly anyway.

"Damned Germans!" whispered Piani.

"No," I said, "Aymo was shot by an Italian. There's no way the Germans could be in that direction. It's just some frightened Italian soldiers. They will shoot at anything that moves."

We left Aymo lying on the hillside. I was sad to see him die. I liked him. We crossed to the other side of the hill to the railroad. There was another field before us. A fair distance away was a house surrounded by farmland. It was too dangerous for us to stay outside. I decided that we should take the chance to try to get to the house. It would be extremely dangerous, but so was staying where we were. I went ahead first. As I walked out into the open field, even though I could not see any, I felt like a thousand guns were pointed at me. Somehow, we managed to get there though.

Right away, I had Piani, Bartolomeo, and Bonello search for food and drinks. Meanwhile I went to check out the barn behind the house. That seemed like the safest place for us to stay. I climbed up to the second floor of the barn and lay down in the dry grass. It was very quiet and the smell reminded me of my childhood. I almost fell asleep, but then Piani came into the barn. He had food in his hands, and some wine.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"Well, Tenente ... They're gone. They decided to let the Germans take them prisoner. They were too afraid to be shot."

"And you? What made you stay?"

"I felt it would be wrong to leave you here alone."

We ate for a while and drank some of the wine. After that, we rested until night came, then we left for Udine. I had fully expected to be killed that evening. It was strange to find the night so quiet. Several times, we came very close to German soldiers who were marching along the roadside. They never saw us, and not a single bullet was fired the entire night. Eventually, we made it back to the main road where the Italians were still crowded in an incredibly long line.

"Will you tell the leaders that Bonello and Bartolomeo gave themselves to the Germans?" Piani asked me. "If you do, it will be bad for his family. Especially if the war continues."

Suddenly, a voice came from the main road. "There is no more war. It's finished. We are all going home now."

Then another voice shouted, "Hurray for peace! Kill all of the officers!"

"I had better not call you 'Tenente'. They might shoot you," Piani whispered.

Up ahead, I could see policemen standing outside of the line and looking carefully at each person who passed. They pulled two officers from among the people and had them stand next to the car and wait while they continued to look for others. As Piani and I came closer, I saw the policemen looking at me. Suddenly they came running through the crowd and took hold of my arm.

"What are you doing?" I shouted and pulled my arm away. One of them tried again to grab me. This time, I struck him with my fist and went to grab my gun. However, I was then taken hold of from behind. Soon, several were upon me. I could hear one of the policemen shouting to them, "Kill him, if he does not cooperate!"

I was taken down past the police car, next to the river. There were several officers being held there as well. I was put into a short line and made to watch and listen as the other officers were questioned one by one. Their questions were simple and pointless. Every man was shot and killed afterward no matter what he said. It seemed that they believed we had run away from our units. They believed that we were the reason Germany had successfully entered Italy. And I was sure that, because of my accent, they believed that I was a German in Italian Army clothing.

I had no choice. I had to run. As soon as another group of officers was brought down to the river, I ran as fast as I could for the river. Shots were fired as I got closer to the water. Luckily, my foot hit a rock and I fell directly into the water. My clothing and boots were heavy enough to keep me from floating easily back up to the surface. I went up for air and then immediately pulled myself back under water. I did this three times. The first two times I could hear bullets splashing all around me, but the third time only the sound of rushing water could be heard. I allowed myself to float and took hold of a long piece of wood that happened to be nearby. Then I let myself be carried further and further away from danger.

(end of section)