Lieutenant Robert P. Hunter, 84th Bomb Squadron
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L-R: Herb Newman pilot. Yours truly. Cliff Branstad pilot, Pete Galvez pilot. On the roof of the “Villa Gaia” at the Marina di Grosseto, Italy. Where I stayed. Down within the pine forest, near the park and beach. We all had fun together and everything was very low key. We had no duties except when flying and once in a while we had to spend a night at the airfield censoring mail as the acting Officer Of The Day. Were supposed to be in charge of security at that time, but it was too hazardous for us to check the guards at night, so the Sgt. Of the Guard, who was known to all of the guards, would do that. They were very trigger-happy at night. Those days in Italy were a great adventure for us very young men and our experiences in the A-20 were extraordinary. The days in service- the training- new Lieutenants- combat stuff- the final days of the war, and then home. Found myself in college while still on terminal leave.
Pina, Cliff, and Maria. The ladies - sisters, did our laundry and some housekeeping. Very nice and pleasant to know. Their home was very close to the ocean, and lived with their folks. I remember visiting one day, and eating eel, which they caught in the river. I remember that we had a good relationship with our Italian neighbors, and our cooks would trade with them to get fresh items, and would share leftovers with them. We had a dance at the villa and invited them and their families. We were all well behaved. We enjoyed visiting despite the language problems. In America we rarely had a chance to learn a language as few spoke anything but English.
Cliff Branstad, my pilot on the left, with Herb Newman, a bombardier who I trained with as a cadet. We are on the roof of our villa. He lives in New York, and I visited him in 1948.
Sunning on the roof of the Villa Gaia. My room is to the left.
This is our room, 4 of us shared it. There were about 30-40 officers staying in the villa besides the cooks. We had cots and sleeping bags, with mosquito nets over the beds. Had a nylon sheet in the bag, which was freezing when we entered, but soon held the warmth and was most comfortable.
View from roof of our villa. Can see pines, park, more villas, and Mediterranean beyond. Notice steps at bottom to park, about middle of picture.
Same steps today, and park. Picture courtesy of Marco Tarsi.
Same steps today, and park. Picture courtesy of Marco Tarsi.
Same steps today, and park. Picture courtesy of Marco Tarsi.
Villa Gaia today. Picture courtesy of Marco Tarsi.
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