Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59 Servigliano, Italy · PDF fileArmie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59, Servigliano, Italy. 5 Order of the Interior Pages Much might be understood

Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59

Servigliano, Italy

The Journal pp. 2–56

Notes pp. 57–60

Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59, Servigliano, Italy. �


Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59, Servigliano, Italy. 5








Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59, Servigliano, Italy. 1�

















Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59, Servigliano, Italy. �0



Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59, Servigliano, Italy. ��

























The Inside Cover

The inside cover of the journal contains two bits of poetry. The first is from the ballad of William and Margaret, by eighteenth-century Scottish dramatist David Mallet:

“How could you say my face was fair, And yet that face foresake?How could you win my virgin-heart, Yet leave that heart to break?”

Perhaps this stanza was one Armie had memorized in grade school. As an adult, he could recite other poetry from memory, including the whole of Longfellow’s The Village Blacksmith. Note that the version of Mallet’s lines in the journal is a little different from the actual poem, as it begins: “Why did you say,” rather than “How could you say.”

“Kindness in another’s troubles and courage in your own,” is another borrowed line, this time from Adam Lindsay Gordon:

“Life is mostly froth and bubble; Two things stand like stone:Kindness in another’s troubles; Courage in your own.”

“Devotion—Gratitude—Courage,” would seem to be Armie’s own expression—perhaps laying down of the principles he would strive to live by during imprisonment.

The last paragraph, about the “farmer’s religion,” is clearly something that Armie wrote:

“The farmers religion is a shy kind ofreligion a religion given him by his life and the immensities of nature about him, by the wide lonely, awesome fields, by the star-sown fields of heaven as seen from his camp in the quiet night. These influences slide imperceptivly into the soul of the lonely farmer in the country the precipitate of such moments is religion.”

Throughout his life, Armie had a habit, on any clear night and in all seasons, of going outdoors just before bedtime to look at the stars. Perhaps it was his way of renewing a connection to nature and to meditate on the vastness of the universe.

The word “camp” here might have any of several meanings. In part Armie might have felt that, although a camp prisoner, he could draw strength from the open sky and stars overhead. Armie had camped beneath the stars while in the service.

Armie had grown up on farms. Looking today at pictures of Camp 59, I am thinking he might well have seen Italian farmers at work in fields on the hillsides beyond the camp walls.


Order of the Interior Pages

Much might be understood from the order of the pages in the journal, assuming many or all of the entries are chronological. Even the absence of pages are clues. Perhaps Armie tore pages from the book to share with other men during their lecture times. Missing sheets are noted here. Blank pages noted here simply indicate that the back side of a sheet was unused.

Here is a breakdown of the order of the pages:

� List of men in Hut �, Section 11 blank page5 Rigging no. 1–�9� Italian army military ranks� Rigging no. �0–�� and Italian army military ranks 1 sheet torn out blank sheet� Rope tricks no. 1–�9 Statement on writing 1 sheet torn out10 “Rose” drawing blank sheet11 “Swordfishing” drawing blank sheet 8 sheets torn out12–15 Italian class (“starting July �”) 1 sheet missing1�–1� Italian class 1 sheet missing1� Italian class blank page19–2� Italian class blank page2� Italian class (half page missing) blank page 3 sheets missing25–2� Technical English lessons2�–�� Science lessons blank page 1 sheet missing��–�5 Escape diary (September 1�-2�, 19��) 2 sheets missing�� Italian vocabulary and phrases

blank page�� Italian vocabulary and phrases 1 sheet missing�� Italian vocabulary and phrases�9 Perhaps notes on course of travel “Benevento—allies Censive �� K. this side”�0 Italian vocabulary and phrases 1 sheet missing�1 Italian vocabulary and phrases�2 English alphabet and vowels��–�� Italian vocabulary and phrases 1 sheet missing�5 Italian vocabulary and phrases 2 sheets missing��–�� Fragment of logging and fire control notes about 20 sheets torn out blank page50 Italian higher digits blank page51 Italian vocabulary no. ��–92 and lower digits blank page52 Italian vocabulary no. ��–�� blank page5� Italian vocabulary no. �9–�� blank page5� Italian vocabulary no. 29–�� blank page55 Italian vocabulary no. 21–�� blank page5� Italian vocabulary no. 1–11 (half sheet missing) Back cover missing


The Escape

Armie escaped from Camp 59 on September 14, 1943. He and Ben Farley traveled together and reached British lines near Termoli on October 15. The following account is a transcript of journal pages 34–35, the first 10 days of their escape journey. My comments are in brackets.

TWO PARCELS EACH [Armie and Ben Farley each brought two Red Cross parcels when they left the camp.]

TuE. SEPT. 14—10:30 [p.m.] LEFT CAMP. WALKED EAST till OuT OF CAMP. ABOuT 3 KL. THEN TuRNED S.W. BIvOuACED 4:00 A.M.

WED SEPT 15WOKE uP 5:30 BREWED COFFEE and HAD SAuSAGE + TOMATO’S SHAvED + WASHED uP. STARTED WALKING AT 8 A.M. RESTED EvERY ONCE IN AWHILE. 10:00 A.M. had food in field with farmer + family. potatoes, bread, wine, peaches. Walked again inquiring at each farm the Direction to Escoli [Ascoli]. Stopped at farm at cross roads. got bread cheese + water. �:00 P.M. crossed river in ox cart [with farmer] took a swim in river. Had supper at a farm, wine, peppers, tomatoes. Stayed over night in a pile of straw in shed. Met vicky + Cruso at a farm.

THuR. SEPT 16Left farm; gave farmer 2 c. [cans] margarine 2 teas + 1 chocolate bar met four of the prisoners from HuT �, walked on river bottom toward Escoli. Had a light meal at �:00 and brewed coffee and rested at 11:00 also got water. Its sure hot here on the river bed. People sure work hard around here from 5 till � at night. Women and all, some good looking but all bashful + carefully watched by parents Its kilometers to Escoli figure are heading S.W of Escoli tonight. Its getting later in the day up from the river bed and over the mts. Ate at a farm later on farmer tried to confuse our direction and was he mad . . . met a farmer who had been to America (a nice fellow) Directed us to follow road. Walked about � miles and lay down to sleep and rest till 11:�0 a.m. Then walked till dark [unsure of these last two words]

SEPT 1�. Woke up �:�0 and walked a couple of miles and lay down to sleep and eat. Ate canned [unsure of this word] meat roll and syrup and bread. Still have a canteen of water but have to get

some more water soon, as its hot here. Its 10:00 a.m. now. Started walking again down road to Escoli stopped and rested by road in shade of large trees. ate and left place stopped in town and walked past town people Warned about Escoli saw G. in civilian clothes I believe drunk. Left road and took cross country; reached another town [Rochafluvione] received N. [Nazi] salute from enemy’s left in hurry. Arrived farm [Bianchini farm] ok.

Sat. Sept. 1�All ok .

Sun. Sept. 19

Mon Sep. 20

TuE SEP. 21LEFT ESCOLI WITH TOM + JIM traveled about �0 miles rested at village [unsure of this word]

WED SEP. 22TRAvELED on SE toward big rock above Aquali. [most likely L’Aquila]

THuR SEP 2�.Travled on past A. crossed main road OK. Hard traveling stopped at farm overnight.

FRI. SEP. 2�


A Few Observations

How Armie came to own this blank notebook is not known. He might have purchased it in Camp 59 with camp money. Or, it might have been issued to him for record keeping when he was put in charge of a hut of servicemen. The first page contains the ranks, names, and serial numbers of the men in Hut �, Section 11 of the camp.

For the most part, the journal would seem to be chronological, front to back, except for the last seven pages (pp. 50–5�), which were written upside down and entered from back to front, with the numbered Italian vocabulary items starting on the last page of the journal, followed by lower-digit numbers and then higher-digit numbers on the sixth and seventh pages in from the back.

My guess is that the Italian words and phases on these last seven pages were ones Armie had learned early on in camp, even before the start of what he calls, on page 12, “Italian class.”

Armie was required to count the men in his hut aloud every, so he would have had to learn Italian numbers early in his captivity. As he explained in a 19�� interview, “As section leader I had to stand by the pot where the food was being dished out and count the men as they passed by—I counted in Italian. If any of the men went through twice—if the count went over ��—then I would have to go without eating.”

In the same interview, Armie said, “We organized activities to amuse ourselves and pass the day, because the days could be very long. One of our pastimes was telling stories. Every week we’d meet in one place and someone would tell a story. An Australian might tell about his ranch in Australia where they raised sheep. Each man would talk about his home country and his background. I talked about logging in northern Wisconsin. I talked for about an hour while the men took notes.”

The Italian class (pp. 1�–2�) and technical English and science lessons (pp. 25–��) are apparently notes from these classes and storytelling sessions. The few books in the British-run “library” might have provided resource material for some of these technical lectures.

Only the top few lines of what would seem to be Armie’s own lecture notes on lumbering and fire fighting (pp. ��–��) remain in the notebook.

An account of the 10 days following Armie’s escape from the camp is on pages ��–�5.

Immediately following the escape account, there are several more pages of Italian vocabulary and phrases. Many of these words and phrases would have been practical for escaped prisoners to know, such as:

Devo andare. (I must go, or I ought to go.)Dove conduce questa strada? (Where does this road go?)Dov’è una fontana? (Where is the fountain?) Dov’è il paese più vicino? (Where is the handiest town from here?)

Curiously, among the Italian notes is a printed English alphabet and set of vowels. It is as if, in the process of someone teaching him some Italian, Armie had paused to show the difference between the Italian alphabet (which contains 21 letters) and the English alphabet.

Since these Italian lessons come after the account of the escape, I am thinking that this Italian tutoring might have occurred after the escape, perhaps at the home of the Bianchini family, in Roccafluvione, where Armie and Ben Farley were harbored for several days.

On page �9 are two lines, which seem to be geographical references. The first seems to say “Benevento — allies,” perhaps news or rumor that Allied forces had control of, or were expected to take control of, the town of Benevento. The second line suggests a location �� kilometers this side of what looks like Censivu. Might he have meant Cenciara (which was a town close to where he was traveling)?

— Dennis Hill February 15, 2008

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Armie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59 Servigliano, Italy · PDF fileArmie S. Hill’s Journal from Camp 59, Servigliano, Italy. 5 Order of the Interior Pages Much might be understood