Web Mastery
Pick of the Week
Try: http://camp59survivors.wordpress.com/author/servigliano/.
On the cusp of the U.S. holiday, Memorial Day 2009, we direct you to a web site of IU's Dennis Hill, a graphic designer at the Office of Creative Services in Bloomington. Near the end of his father's life, Hill had many conversations with his father, many of which the younger Hill recorded for posterity. Soon, the older Hill, a WWII infantry veteran, was relating stories about his experiences as a prisoner-of-war in Italy. After the vet's death, the younger Hill put together a web blog related to his father's incarceration in Campo 59, Servigliano, Italy.
What has transpired since January 2008 is an electronic meeting place of memories—not only for the elderly Allied servicemen who were at the camp but for their families and succeeding generations. Hill hopes to bring in the memories of the many Italian families who risked greatly in helping Allied troops to escape. The web site is rich with memories, memorabilia, news clippings and snapshots.
A plaque installed by the local council (picture above) in 1993 at the site of the prison camp explains:
"After the Armistice of September 8, 1943, 3,000 Allied prisoners escaped through the opening they had dug on the west side of this camp. They will forever be grateful for the immediate and courageous generosity shown by the Italian people."
As we remember the men and women who have served in the armed forces through the years, the site is not only a testimony to the survivors of Campo 59, but a tribute to the resiliency, wisdom and pride that shines through all who have been called to serve their country.
