In October of 1993, I was part a team of 15 airmen who performed two weeks of active duty for training at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Two of the airmen were airwomen and I had an assistant, Master Sergeant Stephen K. Y. Lee.
Sunday
We flew from San Francisco to Philadelphia where I looked for the AMC counter to provide military assistance. First we looked in Terminal D, then we hauled our bags for 40 minutes to Terminal A, then I picked up the white courtesy phone and called to ask where the AMC folks were and we hauled our bags back to Terminal D. The essence of leadership is to project confidence that you know what you are doing at all times.
Airport food prices were sky-high–$8 for a hamburger–so I ate crackers and peanut butter at the USO inside the terminal.
Monday
From Philadelphia we flew to Lajes Field in the Azores where we were encouraged to stay on the aircraft because of the heavy rain and darkness outside. After a 90-minute stay on the ground, we continued to Aviano where we landed at 0815 and received our work and billeting assignments.
Aviano was a forward deployment base for sorties over Iraq and Kuwait so we had lots of Marine aircraft and lost of Marines sharing facilities with us.
Mildred and Ava were assigned to Tent B-2 and the rest of us to Tents D-3 and D-4, except for Carlos, whose girl friend flew over and rented an off-base villa for the two of them.
Trying to understand the shower tent scheduling gave me a headache–three categories and four shifts for each category. Women, enlisted and officers/senior NCOs were expected to shower at separate times, which I suppose made sense. I wouldn’t want a private staring at my privates.
Rain in northern Italy in October was intermittent day and night.
Tuesday
I bought 94,000 lira for $60 and we went to Tussi’s off base where I spent 30,000 lira for dinner. Carlos introduced me to his girl friend, Wendy, and invited me to join them on off base tours between work shifts. We signed up for a USO day trip to Venice on Saturday and gave ourselves that day off.
Captain LaSheer, base Marine commandant, sent word that he wanted to see me. He informed me that everyone in the Marine compound (tent city, where we were billeted) who wore a flight suit was an officer and told me that "Hey, man" was not an acceptable greeting for an enlisted man to give to an officer and maybe I wanted to talk to SSgt Easter about that.
Aviano was built during World War II as an Axis base for Italian operations and was constructed in two sections. The flight line was about two miles from the main base in order to protect the infrastructure from bombs directed at the operational portion of the base.
Wednesday
Our liaison, SSgt Taylor, issued us a staff vehicle for Senior NCO use. Steve Lee and I drove up the mountain to Pian Cavallo, a ski resort. We had an espresso then drove back down the mountain to Pordenone. We parked in the financial district and walked around. It was like Rodeo Drive. We sat at a table in a restaurant, reviewed the menu and the prices, and quietly left before the waiter came. If I were in the U.S., I would have been embarrassed but I took solace that we were only ignorant foreigners and did not have to live up to Italian expectations.
We stopped at a pizzeria on the way back and I ordered a Calzone–mushrooms, cheese, prosciutto and a big ball of buttermilk curd–Yum! We had cappuccino for dessert and spent 15,000 lira for the meal.
Back at base, the Marines were having a toga party. Pretty scary.
Wednesday
This was picnic day for the 608th Air Logistics Squadron. We wore civilian clothes to attend a Cajun-style affair with some good local wine for those going off duty.
Afterward I went to Verona with Carlos and Wendy. We drove for three hours and arrived at 4:30 pm.
We walked around the Roman arena, still in use for night plays during the summer, and went downtown after dark. Juliette’s balcony was on display, with an opportunity to drop coins into a slot in the wall.
We sat in the Centro and drank cappuccino and returned to Aviano about 10 pm.
Thursday
I borrowed a broom and dust pan from the Billeting Office to clean our tent and signed a hand receipt for it.
SSgt Taylor, Marty, invited me to his house for dinner. I bought a couple of six packs of Heineken to take and a bouquet of carnations for his wife, Elma. Her parents lived with them, Keith and Betty, and people came in and out all evening. Betty cooked corn, butterbeans, potatoes, macaroni, chicken, beef, apple cake, peach cobbler and cherry cheesecake. Marty served a Spanish red wine and drove me back to the tents after dinner.
Saturday
After breakfast at the chow hall, we boarded the bus at 0730 for Venice. Ava and Mildred ran a little late. They were showering when we left the tents for the chow hall so Gary Soriano drove back from the chow hall to pick them up.
We had bright sunshine as we rolled away from base and the Dolomites to the north were peaked with snow.
We met our guide, Michael, at Piazza Roma and took a water taxi to the beginning of the walking tour. Michael took us to the "last truly authentic gondola shop" where the family turns out two boats per year. They showed us tools and materials and explained procedures and history.
We walked through the city, visiting Santa Maria de la Salute, Piazza San Marco and the church of St George of the Greeks and took a gondola ride across the Grand Canal.
Michael took us to his favorite caffe for lunch and we had salad, pasta, bread and wine and I chose a cheese lasagne for entree. Next to us, three tables of Italian men in suits had a great time, singing, cheering, shouting, tables filled with white wine and lobster.
Rain fell after lunch as we walked through the Doges palace courtyard and across the Bridge of Sighs. Inside St Mark’s Basilica, we paid 2,000 lira to view the gold altar screen behind the sepulcher.
The Arsenal was a highlight. It was the first modern application of assembly line techniques and standard parts. The Venetians could build a war galley from keel to completion in four hours, then send it down the canal past the chandlery building and outfit it in six hours and sent it seaward on its mission. Since they used standard parts of the same size, they could be repaired anywhere in the world that had a Venetian base.
At the end of the tour, Michael faded away and disappeared before anyone knew he was leaving.
We waited in front of the Hotel Danieli for the Number One vaporetto to take us back to the bus. As we waited, I strode inside the hotel with purpose and a steely gaze and made my way back to the rest rooms, then out a side door to avoid the doormen.
Back out front, Omar Salvarado mentioned that he needed to use the rest room so I took him inside. We did not fool the doormen a second time–they intercepted us and escorted us back out the front door.
The vaporetto made 14 stops along the Grand Canal before dropping us at Piazza Roma. While Michelle rounded up the bus, we bought hot roasted chestnuts for a little snack.
We arrived back at base about 7:30 pm and drove to the Western Caffe in Aviano for pizza and wine before returning to our tent and going to bed.
Sunday
We slept straight through until the 0500 alarm, showered and headed for work. No one was on duty when we showed up at 0600 because the weekend shift starts at 0700 so we went to breakfast at the chow hall.
Steve Lee mopped our tent and I returned the broom and dust pan to Billeting in return for my hand receipt.
Seven of us took the Suburban to Pordenone for Chinese food. Steve thought he could order for us since he is Chinese but our hosts had been in Italy for a few generations and spoke only Italian. We persevered in our desire to order large portions to share rather than individual dinners and had a wonderful meal. The bill was 161,000 lira, $107, which we split equally after Mildred paid with a traveler’s check.
Monday
Steve and I went to the NCO Club for lunch and it was great–tortellini soup and veal scallopini and a chunk of Gorgonzola for dessert, the best cheese I’ve ever tasted.
Steve and Mildred and "E" (SSGT Easter) and I drove to Trieste after lunch to see Miramare, Maximilian’s castle. I took the car up to 160 kph on the autostrada, stopping for occasional toll booths.
We arrived at the castle at 4:40 pm, forty minutes after it closed, so we walked about the grounds and took photos of the sun sinking into the Adriatic.
We drove into downtown Trieste and parked at the harbor opposite the downtown square and chatted with a young man who gave us some history of Trieste and some of his views about world politics and American policy.
After an espresso on the square, we drove back to Aviano for dinner at Vecchio’s, which is closed on Mondays. We went across the road to Da Genio and I had gnocchi a la Gorgonzola with trout and white wine.
Tuesday
After taking care of Air Force business most of the day, Steve and Mildred and I drove to Austria and had dinner in Villach in the Alps. Snow appeared beside the roadway up higher but no ice.
We ate at the Romantik Restaurant/Hotel–venison in cranberry sauce and mashed potato balls fried in sliced almonds and a soup of sour cream with bits of beef. The town was pretty much closed down for holiday. I asked the maitre’d if it was customary to tip and he said it would be appreciated.
Wednesday
Steve and Mildred and I left Aviano at 1:30 pm and drove two hours to Slovenia. At the Donino toll exit, a carabiniere waved us over and told us that my ID card was not sufficient for driving, I needed a potente internationale. We all nodded vigorously and said okay and he let us proceed.
The Slovenian border guards were reluctant to allow us into their country. Mildred told them we would spend only a couple of hours so they let us pass.
We drove to the tip of the peninsula to Pran and spent an hour or so walking about the waterfront. I found an ATM that converted a 10,000 lira bill into 740 Slovenia somethings. We had an espresso and bought post cards and took photos, then drove to Portorosso after dark.
Steve and Mildred bought candy from a shop on the main street and I bought a piece of hand-painted crystal.
We found a nice waterfront restaurant for dinner, with Italians in the booth on one side of us and Germans on the other. The waitress accommodated all languages presented.
Mildred had scampi, Steve beefsteak and I ordered calamari. First course was fish soup, full of baby calamari, clams, fish and one shrimp. Next was fried calamari stuffed with green pepper followed by fried calamari with butter and garlic. The waitress served us fiery schnapps after dinner with ice cream.
We had no difficulty crossing the border to return and arrived back at Aviano just before 11 pm.
Thursday
This was the last duty day for day shift. Swing got off Wednesday night and planned to go to Austria.
Carlos’ car was broken into Wednesday at Miramonte and Wendy’s passport was stolen. They planned to go to Milano Friday to get another.
Captain Carver gave us a certificate of appreciation for our two weeks of work, a rare honor, and several people were singled out for individual recognition.
We hosted a dinner at Tussi’s for our active duty counterparts. Tussi began with misciotti, a five-sauce pasta, then barbecued ribs, chicken and sausages. The final course was a glass of grappa, very smooth. Carlos treated everyone to flaming Sambucco.
We went afterward to the NCO Club and celebrated our superior rating with champagne and cognac.
Friday
Steve, Mildred, Stanley John, John Foster and I had breakfast at the chow hall and took off for San Marino. I had the great idea of avoiding toll stations by taking scenic Route 309 south from Mestre through Ravenna. The truckers prefer that route also so we spent several hours breathing Diesel smoke. We arrived at San Marino at noon, the beginning of siesta.
The country is 24 square miles, rising to a mountainous peak in the center. That is the site of three towers and the old city, built in the 13th Century. We parked near the top and walked about for several hours.
When siesta ended, we paid 3,000 lira to tour Tower One and admired the view of the Adriatic Sea and the Dalmatian coast, which we could not see because of the haze.
We left about 4 pm and took the autostrada back through Bologna and Ferrara. We stopped at an Auto Grill for sandwiches.
Traffic through Bologna was stop and go approaching the toll plazas. We finally got back to Aviano at 8:00 pm and went to Vecchio’s for pizza and gelato.
Saturday
We took a bus to Marco Polo airport in Venice and flew to San Francisco through Frankfort where security was very tight. In fact, they concentrated so hard on what might be in our baggage that they lost track of where it was supposed to go. We arrived in San Francisco 24 hours before our duffel bags did.
So that was that. Another successful annual tour, working hard and earning the gratitude of the active duty folks for helping them fulfill the Air Force mission.
Sunday
We flew from San Francisco to Philadelphia where I looked for the AMC counter to provide military assistance. First we looked in Terminal D, then we hauled our bags for 40 minutes to Terminal A, then I picked up the white courtesy phone and called to ask where the AMC folks were and we hauled our bags back to Terminal D. The essence of leadership is to project confidence that you know what you are doing at all times.
Airport food prices were sky-high–$8 for a hamburger–so I ate crackers and peanut butter at the USO inside the terminal.
Monday
From Philadelphia we flew to Lajes Field in the Azores where we were encouraged to stay on the aircraft because of the heavy rain and darkness outside. After a 90-minute stay on the ground, we continued to Aviano where we landed at 0815 and received our work and billeting assignments.
Aviano was a forward deployment base for sorties over Iraq and Kuwait so we had lots of Marine aircraft and lost of Marines sharing facilities with us.
Mildred and Ava were assigned to Tent B-2 and the rest of us to Tents D-3 and D-4, except for Carlos, whose girl friend flew over and rented an off-base villa for the two of them.
Trying to understand the shower tent scheduling gave me a headache–three categories and four shifts for each category. Women, enlisted and officers/senior NCOs were expected to shower at separate times, which I suppose made sense. I wouldn’t want a private staring at my privates.
Rain in northern Italy in October was intermittent day and night.
Tuesday
I bought 94,000 lira for $60 and we went to Tussi’s off base where I spent 30,000 lira for dinner. Carlos introduced me to his girl friend, Wendy, and invited me to join them on off base tours between work shifts. We signed up for a USO day trip to Venice on Saturday and gave ourselves that day off.
Captain LaSheer, base Marine commandant, sent word that he wanted to see me. He informed me that everyone in the Marine compound (tent city, where we were billeted) who wore a flight suit was an officer and told me that "Hey, man" was not an acceptable greeting for an enlisted man to give to an officer and maybe I wanted to talk to SSgt Easter about that.
Aviano was built during World War II as an Axis base for Italian operations and was constructed in two sections. The flight line was about two miles from the main base in order to protect the infrastructure from bombs directed at the operational portion of the base.
Wednesday
Our liaison, SSgt Taylor, issued us a staff vehicle for Senior NCO use. Steve Lee and I drove up the mountain to Pian Cavallo, a ski resort. We had an espresso then drove back down the mountain to Pordenone. We parked in the financial district and walked around. It was like Rodeo Drive. We sat at a table in a restaurant, reviewed the menu and the prices, and quietly left before the waiter came. If I were in the U.S., I would have been embarrassed but I took solace that we were only ignorant foreigners and did not have to live up to Italian expectations.
We stopped at a pizzeria on the way back and I ordered a Calzone–mushrooms, cheese, prosciutto and a big ball of buttermilk curd–Yum! We had cappuccino for dessert and spent 15,000 lira for the meal.Back at base, the Marines were having a toga party. Pretty scary.
Wednesday
This was picnic day for the 608th Air Logistics Squadron. We wore civilian clothes to attend a Cajun-style affair with some good local wine for those going off duty.
Afterward I went to Verona with Carlos and Wendy. We drove for three hours and arrived at 4:30 pm.
We walked around the Roman arena, still in use for night plays during the summer, and went downtown after dark. Juliette’s balcony was on display, with an opportunity to drop coins into a slot in the wall.
We sat in the Centro and drank cappuccino and returned to Aviano about 10 pm.
Thursday
I borrowed a broom and dust pan from the Billeting Office to clean our tent and signed a hand receipt for it.
SSgt Taylor, Marty, invited me to his house for dinner. I bought a couple of six packs of Heineken to take and a bouquet of carnations for his wife, Elma. Her parents lived with them, Keith and Betty, and people came in and out all evening. Betty cooked corn, butterbeans, potatoes, macaroni, chicken, beef, apple cake, peach cobbler and cherry cheesecake. Marty served a Spanish red wine and drove me back to the tents after dinner.
Saturday
After breakfast at the chow hall, we boarded the bus at 0730 for Venice. Ava and Mildred ran a little late. They were showering when we left the tents for the chow hall so Gary Soriano drove back from the chow hall to pick them up.
We had bright sunshine as we rolled away from base and the Dolomites to the north were peaked with snow.
We met our guide, Michael, at Piazza Roma and took a water taxi to the beginning of the walking tour. Michael took us to the "last truly authentic gondola shop" where the family turns out two boats per year. They showed us tools and materials and explained procedures and history.
We walked through the city, visiting Santa Maria de la Salute, Piazza San Marco and the church of St George of the Greeks and took a gondola ride across the Grand Canal.
Michael took us to his favorite caffe for lunch and we had salad, pasta, bread and wine and I chose a cheese lasagne for entree. Next to us, three tables of Italian men in suits had a great time, singing, cheering, shouting, tables filled with white wine and lobster.
Rain fell after lunch as we walked through the Doges palace courtyard and across the Bridge of Sighs. Inside St Mark’s Basilica, we paid 2,000 lira to view the gold altar screen behind the sepulcher.
The Arsenal was a highlight. It was the first modern application of assembly line techniques and standard parts. The Venetians could build a war galley from keel to completion in four hours, then send it down the canal past the chandlery building and outfit it in six hours and sent it seaward on its mission. Since they used standard parts of the same size, they could be repaired anywhere in the world that had a Venetian base.
At the end of the tour, Michael faded away and disappeared before anyone knew he was leaving.
We waited in front of the Hotel Danieli for the Number One vaporetto to take us back to the bus. As we waited, I strode inside the hotel with purpose and a steely gaze and made my way back to the rest rooms, then out a side door to avoid the doormen.
Back out front, Omar Salvarado mentioned that he needed to use the rest room so I took him inside. We did not fool the doormen a second time–they intercepted us and escorted us back out the front door.
The vaporetto made 14 stops along the Grand Canal before dropping us at Piazza Roma. While Michelle rounded up the bus, we bought hot roasted chestnuts for a little snack.
We arrived back at base about 7:30 pm and drove to the Western Caffe in Aviano for pizza and wine before returning to our tent and going to bed.
Sunday
We slept straight through until the 0500 alarm, showered and headed for work. No one was on duty when we showed up at 0600 because the weekend shift starts at 0700 so we went to breakfast at the chow hall.
Steve Lee mopped our tent and I returned the broom and dust pan to Billeting in return for my hand receipt.
Seven of us took the Suburban to Pordenone for Chinese food. Steve thought he could order for us since he is Chinese but our hosts had been in Italy for a few generations and spoke only Italian. We persevered in our desire to order large portions to share rather than individual dinners and had a wonderful meal. The bill was 161,000 lira, $107, which we split equally after Mildred paid with a traveler’s check.
Monday
Steve and I went to the NCO Club for lunch and it was great–tortellini soup and veal scallopini and a chunk of Gorgonzola for dessert, the best cheese I’ve ever tasted.
Steve and Mildred and "E" (SSGT Easter) and I drove to Trieste after lunch to see Miramare, Maximilian’s castle. I took the car up to 160 kph on the autostrada, stopping for occasional toll booths.
We arrived at the castle at 4:40 pm, forty minutes after it closed, so we walked about the grounds and took photos of the sun sinking into the Adriatic.
We drove into downtown Trieste and parked at the harbor opposite the downtown square and chatted with a young man who gave us some history of Trieste and some of his views about world politics and American policy.
After an espresso on the square, we drove back to Aviano for dinner at Vecchio’s, which is closed on Mondays. We went across the road to Da Genio and I had gnocchi a la Gorgonzola with trout and white wine.
Tuesday
After taking care of Air Force business most of the day, Steve and Mildred and I drove to Austria and had dinner in Villach in the Alps. Snow appeared beside the roadway up higher but no ice.
We ate at the Romantik Restaurant/Hotel–venison in cranberry sauce and mashed potato balls fried in sliced almonds and a soup of sour cream with bits of beef. The town was pretty much closed down for holiday. I asked the maitre’d if it was customary to tip and he said it would be appreciated.Wednesday
Steve and Mildred and I left Aviano at 1:30 pm and drove two hours to Slovenia. At the Donino toll exit, a carabiniere waved us over and told us that my ID card was not sufficient for driving, I needed a potente internationale. We all nodded vigorously and said okay and he let us proceed.
The Slovenian border guards were reluctant to allow us into their country. Mildred told them we would spend only a couple of hours so they let us pass.
We drove to the tip of the peninsula to Pran and spent an hour or so walking about the waterfront. I found an ATM that converted a 10,000 lira bill into 740 Slovenia somethings. We had an espresso and bought post cards and took photos, then drove to Portorosso after dark.
Steve and Mildred bought candy from a shop on the main street and I bought a piece of hand-painted crystal.
We found a nice waterfront restaurant for dinner, with Italians in the booth on one side of us and Germans on the other. The waitress accommodated all languages presented.
Mildred had scampi, Steve beefsteak and I ordered calamari. First course was fish soup, full of baby calamari, clams, fish and one shrimp. Next was fried calamari stuffed with green pepper followed by fried calamari with butter and garlic. The waitress served us fiery schnapps after dinner with ice cream.
We had no difficulty crossing the border to return and arrived back at Aviano just before 11 pm.
Thursday
This was the last duty day for day shift. Swing got off Wednesday night and planned to go to Austria.
Carlos’ car was broken into Wednesday at Miramonte and Wendy’s passport was stolen. They planned to go to Milano Friday to get another.
Captain Carver gave us a certificate of appreciation for our two weeks of work, a rare honor, and several people were singled out for individual recognition.
We hosted a dinner at Tussi’s for our active duty counterparts. Tussi began with misciotti, a five-sauce pasta, then barbecued ribs, chicken and sausages. The final course was a glass of grappa, very smooth. Carlos treated everyone to flaming Sambucco.
We went afterward to the NCO Club and celebrated our superior rating with champagne and cognac.
Friday
Steve, Mildred, Stanley John, John Foster and I had breakfast at the chow hall and took off for San Marino. I had the great idea of avoiding toll stations by taking scenic Route 309 south from Mestre through Ravenna. The truckers prefer that route also so we spent several hours breathing Diesel smoke. We arrived at San Marino at noon, the beginning of siesta.
The country is 24 square miles, rising to a mountainous peak in the center. That is the site of three towers and the old city, built in the 13th Century. We parked near the top and walked about for several hours.
When siesta ended, we paid 3,000 lira to tour Tower One and admired the view of the Adriatic Sea and the Dalmatian coast, which we could not see because of the haze.
We left about 4 pm and took the autostrada back through Bologna and Ferrara. We stopped at an Auto Grill for sandwiches.
Traffic through Bologna was stop and go approaching the toll plazas. We finally got back to Aviano at 8:00 pm and went to Vecchio’s for pizza and gelato.
Saturday
We took a bus to Marco Polo airport in Venice and flew to San Francisco through Frankfort where security was very tight. In fact, they concentrated so hard on what might be in our baggage that they lost track of where it was supposed to go. We arrived in San Francisco 24 hours before our duffel bags did.
So that was that. Another successful annual tour, working hard and earning the gratitude of the active duty folks for helping them fulfill the Air Force mission.
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