If, like me, you ever served in Naples with NATO, you may remember the big AFSOUTH HQ on the mainland. We Navy-types had our own separate COMNAVSOUTH HQ on the tiny island of Nisida – just down the road, past the steelworks and across the causeway. The island was rumoured to house a prison but not that we ever saw it.
Just reading Steinbeck’s “Once there was a war”. He was out there as a war correspondent on the front-line, describing his very human experiences during World War II.
I’m sure that the tale “The Lady Packs” describing British Commandos rescuing an Italian Admiral, his wife and her trunk (15 October 1943) relates to Nisida – all the naval connections over the intervening decades seem to fit.
Very much worth a read unless you want steely-jawed, muscle-bound military cartoon cardboard cut-outs. This is about real people swept into circumstances outside their usual lives and how their humanity survives.
And, for all those former Wrens and others who met their future American husbands in Naples during following decades, you might recognise some of the characteristics. “Souvenirs” reminded me of those carrier pilots still determined to get their loot home in the 1980s!
As for me, I was the Vice-Commodore of the Naples NATO Yacht Club, responsible for running great parties and, glass-in-hand, starting the races from the regatta launch. Great memories!