Tuesday, August 21, 2012

In Memoriam: Angelo Pivetta, 1926 - 2012

He was a good man. My dear Papa, Angelo Pivetta, passed away early today at age 86. I'll never forget the life lessons he imparted. Facing draft registration, a mere lad of 18, I asked him: "Don't you think I should fight for my country? Isn't it the honorable thing to do?"

I thought he'd shed some light on the matter. He'd lost a 24-year-old brother in the Italian Army during the Siege of Stalingrad, after all. To top it all off, the poor schmuck was fighting on the Bad Guys' Side. Yes, my poor Zio Nino fought with the Germans to put the kibosh to Stalin's tyranny, when all along he was supposed to fight with the Russians to put the kibosh to Hitler's tyranny.

Who knew? The Cold War would come two long years later! He was just a little ahead of his time.

Anyway, my Papa would have none of this. He came unglued. "Your country?! What?! Are you crazy?! Where do you get these ideas? No! You have no country! You know where my country is?! Between my legs! That's my country! That's all I live for! That's all I fight for! That's all I'll die for!"

Words to live by. Here's hoping he's in a better country tonight. May God rest his soul.

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

i love this post. !!! well said.

your dad was an angel on Earth and he was so right!

BRAVO

danny bloom, 1949-2032, refused to serve in Vietnam in 1969 sat on floor and Charlestown Navy Yard recruitment center and said I refuse to kill people in Vietnam i do not even know. They 4F'd me. ANd i was right, Vietnam was so wrong. in so many ways. SIGH

11:06 PM  
Blogger Tony said...

Thanks. I'm still grieving my dad's passing. If you're interested, here's the more complete story behind the post. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/pivetta3.html

4:21 PM  

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