THE LONGEST BATTLE
often would wear his Bronze Star, too,” Tisch said. Despite it all, never at any time did her grandfather regret serving. “He was never resentful toward the Army, he was only ever free. [Five years before he died] he said, ‘I helped my country to be free and helped the bravest of men.’ ” Tat meant everything to him.
RETURN TO SERVIGLIANO, YEARS LATER In 2014, some 70 years after her grand- father’s escape from Camp 59, Tisch said her aunt and uncle, Rose Ann and Joseph Sverapa, went to both the prison camp and the farm in Servigliano where Mandese spent a year hiding out. Te farm owner’s children, Enrico and Rosa Cardinali, remembered Mandese and acknowledged he was chosen for safe haven (above the other escaped prisoners) because he spoke their language and had volunteered to
work on their farm. Tey shared stories from the time Mandese stayed with them and said he was a hard worker and “they had chosen wisely.”
Some of the guardhouses still remained at the prison camp, but none of the buildings that housed the prisoners themselves. A museum honoring all the former prison- ers was established on the grounds where schoolchildren could visit and pay their respects. Te mayor at that time, Valeri- ano Ghezzi, presented Tisch’s aunt with a certificate to honor Mandese for his efforts in the war, stating that he and the other Soldiers helped their cause and that they were happy to help them. “Poppy had explained that they [the family] put them- selves in grave danger, since the Nazis were dropping leaflets from planes saying that they were to kill anyone harboring a pris- oner,” Tisch said. “He was concerned the
Italian family could be in danger if they caught him staying there.”
As Mandese’s predicament had grown more distressing, an unexpected turn of events enabled his return to the U.S. After the D-Day Normandy invasion in June 1944, an emaciated Mandese and the same four Soldiers he escaped the camp with, believed the coast was clear and emerged from hiding, fleeing the Italian country- side. Tey met up with the U.S. Army Air Force on July 12, in Foggia, Italy, where Mandese was hospitalized, then released and sent home on Oct. 31, 1944.
PUTTING THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE Tisch’s military ties extend beyond her grandfather’s service. Mandese’s four brothers also served in the Army during World War II. Her father, Robert H.
DIFFICULT PATH
The rugged landscape of central Italy, as viewed from the village of Santa Vittoria in Matenano, near Servigliano, where Camp 59 was located. (Photo by Dennis Hill/
camp59survivors.com)
120
Army AL&T Magazine
Spring 2023
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