Siena MamayekKyana Garcia

A Triskaidekaphobia Tale

The life story of Mario Di Meo, a World War II veteran, may by understood as a

story but for him it is far from unrealistic. Marty was born on July 8, 1921 in the

providence of Pescara in Abruzzi, Italy. He was born to parents Maria Tiberi and Antonio

Di Meo, he was the oldest of three children. His family immigrated to America in 1924

due to an ultimatum issued by Benito Mussolini. It warned his family to join the Fascist

Party or leave Italy. His family decided to leave and luckily, their extended relatives had

an apartment set up for them in Boston. At three years old, he is starting a new life in

America.

In high school he attended Boston English, an all boys school, and in those days

students had to take an entrance exam. The school required smart students, for it was

believed that the unintelligent ones would hold the class back. His schools were very

serious about their academics and when studying a language you learned that language

fluently. It was unlike today’s curriculum, where some students learn only bits and pieces

of the language and that is just enough to pass. Marty’s primary language was Italian, but

following his move to America, he became fluent in English, German, French and Latin.

He even knew a little Spanish. Marty was dedicated to his studies and understood them

completely; he was an intelligent individual and picked up new things quickly.

At 17, Marty was very interested in flying airplanes and eventually received his

student license. By the age of 21, he entered World War II and was interested in

becoming a pilot, but when that did not work out he became a radio operator and gunner.

He entered in 1942 but did not go into combat until 1944. Training required long days

and occasionally he would have Sundays off. To be in the air force the soldiers had to

pass exams for aptitude and physical. They were more concerned about the physical for

your eyesight and hearing. In addition, size was a matter for fitting into the turrets. Once

you are a member in the air force you train with others in the plane. An engineer, radio

operator, six gunners, pilot, co-pilot, navigator and a bombardier were present when they

completed drills. Together they learned emergency procedures, intercom communication

and the importance of each other’s job Marty was a radio operator and during training

learned how to work the equipment and use it during flight. As a radio operator, he had to

report his position back to headquarters so they could in turn keep track of them. He was

mostly in charge of the communication.

After the intense training that he endured, and twelve missions already being

complete, he was very excited to have a three-day stand-down. However, when awakened

on the morning of Friday, October the 13th, at 3 am he was told that he had to fly because

the flying crew had gotten sick. Following the announcement, he attended a briefing on

their mission. They were headed towards Vienna, the worst target in the European

Theater. This is the start of his ironic triskaidekaphobic* story.

This was Marty’s 13th mission and his crew was placed in aircraft 13. The planes

assembled into squadrons over the Adriatic and prepared for takeoff. Once in the air,

Marty’s plane unexpectedly had a leak from the gasoline tank. This was inopportune and

his plane had to return to the base while the others continued on their mission. His crew

landed and was transported to a nearby spare plane. They were now in plane 14 and had

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*Triskaidekaphobic- fear of the number thirteen

to catch up to the front because they were crew number two. Since the others had already

assembled over the target, they never caught up. As they tried to reunite with the

squadron, engine 4 was shot out. They regained stability and were able to drop some

bombs themselves, when engine 3 gave out. With all this happening, a shell from a 155

mm went through their right wing. Now gasoline was pouring out, soaking the crew and

electrical equipment. Communication had been lost up front and the tail men had been

injured severely. With all these unfortunate events, Marty thought this was the end.

Marty saw a crewmember motion ‘thumbs down’, which means get out. Right then

he had a significant decision to make, jump out or go down with the plane. He and the rest

of the crew chose to jump; they strapped on their parachutes and hoped for the best. They

free fell 12,000 ft with their whole lives flashing before them with the anxiety of not

knowing if the chute would open. He landed successfully in a field and coincidently

landed 13 miles from the Hungarian boarder at 13:00.

Four other crewmembers fell in that vicinity and were picked up by local farmers.

It was the citizen’s job to report any enemy activity to the Gestapo. The five of them

including Marty were brought to a church overnight for interrogation. The next night they

traveled by train to Wetzlar, Germany to the Interrogation Center of Airmen. This was

done because Hitler considered airmen to be bargaining chips during the war.

When they took prisoners for interrogation, it was amazing how much they knew

about them. The German police kept ample records of their enemies. If a soldier was

caught and his name matched with a record name, they instantly knew their entire

background. During interrogation, Marty was called a spy because they knew he spoke

more than one language. It was all a scare tactic. Prisoners were also beat up and strip-

searched for secret files and codes. Once interrogation finished prisoners were sent to the

Prisoner of War camps via cattle car at night.

Out of the 100,000’s Prisoner of War Camps, Marty ended up in Stalag Luft IV in

northeastern Germany. Conditions in the camp were harsh and uncomfortable. Food was

rationed, both prisoners and guards were fed poorly. The prisoners tried to make the best

of the situations they were in and often played tricks on the guards for amusement. They

would steal the guards’ possessions and hid them in random places. One day while Marty

was outside his barracks** an unkempt French man offered the prisoners ration tickets

and money. In exchange, the prisoners made him comfortable with new clothes. With the

tickets, Marty brought them to the guard to trade in for some bread. This was an effective

way of obtaining extra food, which he regularly shared with the guard. On the other hand,

some guards were overly strict. While Marty was in the camp, he endured a sucker punch

from a cruel guard. Marty had his foot on a stool when he was putting on his sock and out

of nowhere; the guard came over to him and just punched him. This was unreasonable but

that was the life for many soldiers in war.

By January 1945 Russia was moving German soldiers back west. This led to the

evacuation of many prisoner of war camps. In the dead of winter, Marty along with 6,000

others were evacuated on foot via a march. They walked 15 miles a day with inadequate

clothing, which led to many illnesses. Clothes were seldom washed once a week, if at all.

There were no hospitals around and no one was able to help the sick. As a result many

died on the journey and many were shot right there by the guards. It was a long hard

journey but the troops fought through it. As they marched through the cities, the prisoners

_____________________________________ **Barracks- sleeping quarters

met many people along the way. Marty traded a women a bar of soap for six eggs. They

took what they could and kept their compensation safe for later use.

Marty’s group also beat the system by using a radio. Three members of his group

carried a radio in separate pieces. When they went from city to city and slept outside,

they assembled the devise when the guards were not looking. Through this, they were

able to get a connection with VBC London, a radio station. They would listen to the

status of the war and standing of the Allied troops.

By the end of their evacuation march which was basically a death march 700 out

of the 6,000 had died. They had marched 674 miles to Hamburg, Germany. Luckily, it

was near the end of the war when they reached the city. American troops were there to

liberate the prisoners of war. It was quite an experience for him to know that he was now

free. It is a memory he will never forget.

Life is not easy after war. There is a lot physical and mental aspects that people

do not always understand. For Marty, after being evacuated from his POW camp he was

sent to a hospital in New Jersey. He was treated from an array of different medical issues.

He had developed a heart disease and had become partially deaf from his constant flying.

The psychological part hit him right after he came home and he saw everything in

retrospect. While sleeping at night he believed he was still jumping out of an airplane as

well as fighting to stay alive. The psychological piece is something that takes more time

to heal then a battle wound. It is harder to coupe with things after being in something as

devastating as war. However, Marty did not walk away from the war without a few battle

scars. He was shot a couple times in the left leg as well as once in the rear. Today these

scars are barely visible, although Marty still remembers each of their stories. These scars

are physical reminders of what he endured.

The burdens of war hung heavily on Marty’s shoulders, after coming back home

from the war. He did not want to worry his family with these burdens, so he refrained

from telling his experiences in the war. Before our interview with Marty, he had never

shared his whole story with anyone else. His wife, mother, father and nine kids never

knew that part of his life. During our interview Marty said, “It’s a private thing and I

don’t want to propagate it.” Since serving in the war, Marty has accumulated a variety of

medals and citations for his involvement. As a personal decision, he chooses not to wear

or show them off. Marty dislikes listening to other men’s encounters of war because they

quickly become embellished towards their egotistical self. Even though he chooses not to

wear his medals like most of the other veterans, he worked hard for everything that he

has accomplished. He sees these medals as something that makes you look like a hero he

does not believe in that. Despite the fact that he does not wear his medals, every year on

October 13th he takes out his German dog tag, from his days in the POW camps. This is

his ritual to remember what he went through but also what he survived. It is evident that

he went through a lot in the early years of his life Regardless of all the turmoil, he got

through it and survived.

Throughout all his experience in the war, many trivial matters of high school

come back to mind. The most insignificant subjects he learned, he put them in the back of

his head and did not think twice about ever using them again. But Marty was faced with

survival and at that point, he use anything and everything to survive. In his earlier years

of high school the smallest amount of knowledge he learned, ‘Saved his tush.’ Marty also

gained knowledge about life in general. He knew where he was today and he knew where

he was yesterday, but he never knew where he would be tomorrow. He just had to live

life to its fullest each day because he never knew when it would be the end. Marty also

realized that everything happens for a reason. Every move he made was significant.

Though he went through a lot in war it made him who he is today.