WEBVTT

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(tense music)

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(speaks in foreign language)

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- He was a 12 years-old child.

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He was born in 1932.

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So, he was 12 when

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Italy was liberated in 1944.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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His family, his father was

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an officer of the financial
police, the financial guard,

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who had been transferred to Civitavecchia,

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who was a middle-sized city

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about 13 kilometers north of Rome,

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which was important because it had a port,

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an harbor that was an historical
harbor of the Papal State

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and was also

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strategically important
for the advancement

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of the Allies' army

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from Rome, which is situated in

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the south--
- Right.

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- Towards the north, the
center in the north of Italy.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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In 1943, Civitavecchia was

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the target of a bombing

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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that caused hundreds of deaths.

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And they were surprised by this tragedy.

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And they were sheltered in
the periphery of the city

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in this sort of

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casual shelters for refugees,

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for people that were escaping the bombing,

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and his family was there.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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This bombing continued
until the whole 1944.

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The port was destroyed.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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And even all the ancient military,

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renaissance military construction

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of the port were destroyed.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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The city was destroyed
and suffered terribly.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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There were under 64 bombing from 19--

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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from '43 to '44.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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As you obviously know,
on June the fifth, 1944,

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Rome was liberated

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by the General Clark.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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On the sixth, between the
sixth and seventh of June,

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along the the Roman roads--

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(both speaking in foreign language)

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The Fifth Army entered Civitavecchia.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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All the Allies, not only the Fifth Army,

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but all the Allies were
chasing the Germans

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towards these big Roman
roads, Aurelia and Cascia

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towards, after the Cassino Battle.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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The occupation of Rome by the army?

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(both speaking in foreign language)

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The Fifth Army was the main component

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of the Liberation of Rome.

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- [Jeffrey] Yes, sir.

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(Gerolamo speaks in Italian)

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- When the army, the Fifth
Army, entered Civitavecchia,

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the people were completely exhausted,

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famished and--

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(Gerolamo speaks in foreign language)

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The conditions were horrible,
people were malnourished.

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(Gerolamo speaks in foreign language)

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And they were very
uncertain about the future.

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He remembers this sense of

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uncertainty and of

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fear of the unknown.

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(Gerolamo speaks in foreign language)

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(translator laughs)

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Ah!

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This is an important message
he wanted to talk to you about.

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The fact that he was during the, after,

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sometime during the liberation,

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he climbed--

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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He was a small child
that climbed a little...

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- Mountain.

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(speaks in foreign language)

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(Lieutenant coughing)
- Yes, yes.

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Mountain of crates of

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unexploded bombs and ammunition.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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There were also some tanks,

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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German tanks that had been

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bombed and with inside
they discovered afterwards

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there was still the
corpses of soldiers and--

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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Everybody, at some point
everybody disappeared.

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He was alone sitting on top of
this trying to eat his food.

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And it was crazy because he was

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unaware of what was going on.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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And one of your guys

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approached him and very--

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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And started to tell him calmly and quietly

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to gently climb down

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this little mountain because

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it was extremely dangerous.
- Very dangerous.

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Right.

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- And so, it probably,
most likely saved his life.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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And it was a guy of the Fifth Army.

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- Great.

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If I am able to pass your message from you

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on to any of our World War II veterans,

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is there something you
would like to say to them?

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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- He's gonna say that he
would like to say that,

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even today, he wants to
thank him because they

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put their lives at stake for the freedom

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of his country,

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of all the free world.

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But he was thinking of his country now.

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(Gerolamo speaking in foreign language)

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And they did it with great generosity,

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with particularly respecting the people,

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the population, the local population.

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(tense music)