Word: bolzoni
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...plane climbed out over the Mediterranean, Ector Bolzoni was pretty scared. He admitted as much to TIME Correspondent John Hersey, who was aboard his B26, kneeling between Co-pilot Bolzoni's seat and the pilot's. "Usually you picture a capital defended strongly," Bolzoni said. But gradually Bolzoni's interest in what lay ahead got the better of his nervousness. Hersey saw him hunch forward and strain to see ahead when they were still a good hour away from the Italian coast...
...About halfway, there was a definite climax of anxiety over what we would meet. Bolzoni says it was exactly the same for him, though he never showed it. He tells me that he thought about his mother and father, northern Italians who went to the States in their early 20s, met and were married there. About his father's restaurant in Bristol, Conn., where he was born. When he was young, his parents used to speak Italian whenever they wanted to say something he and his sister were not supposed to understand...
...approached the coast most of us were thinking of flak. But Bolzoni's mind was racing back over many isolated little memories. Over Rome, Bolzoni, who had learned the map of the city by heart, thought he saw the Vatican off to the left. This conjured up a very distinct evening when he was 14 years old and his older sister came back from a trip to Italy and described Rome to the family. They were in the living room of their Bristol home. He was sitting on a footstool looking into his sister's face...
...little red light in our cockpit twinkled on & off. As the bombs toggled out, Bolzoni sharply wondered what the people down below felt. These are his words: 'I wondered whether they looked up at us with fear and hatred, or whether there was secret happiness to see our bombs come down. Maybe they think they'll be free when we take over, or maybe they'll think it's just another bad thing. That depends on us, I guess. Some of my family is in Italy, and I know if I were down there with them...
...After that Bolzoni was too busy watching for flak to do any more meditating...