Interview of Levio Baldarelli by Jenna Baldarelli (2004)

How would you define war?

War is horrible, it’s bad  – War is no good for anyone.  You see pictures in history books of  the Japanese bulldozing bodies into trenches – The Japanese were ruthless.

Where were you when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?

I remember I was in a movie theater and when we got out everyone was yelling and carrying on about the attacks –  I had no idea what was going on.

What made you decide to join the Army?

Well, both of my older brothers joined the army, and of course, I wanted to be like them, but I also wanted to serve for my country.

Did you ever experience combat?

No, I never did.  Both of my brothers did though.

Did you keep in contact with your brothers through letters?

Yeah, they always wrote letters, but by the time I got to read them, there were words scratched out, because they didn’t want any extra information to get out about the war.

Did they ever talk about their war experience when they returned home?

I don’t remember them ever talking about it – I think they were just happy to be home.

Did you worry about being called upon to fight?

Yeah I did a lot of the time, but after a while I enjoyed what I was doing.   At one point half of my unit was sent to fight in the war.

Do you think that vision in your left eye played a part in not fighting overseas?

Maybe – It could have definitely been a reason why I didn’t fight.  I was put into the Limited Services group, but I was still trained to go fight, just in case they needed me.

What were some of the jobs you did with in the States?

I started out in a studio in California making films about the war.  I would take pictures that were used to make documentaries.  While I was out there though, I met all different movie stars—actors/actresses.

Then I went to Camp Polk Louisiana and inspected parachutes.  The parachutes were reused over and over again.  If someone did not pack a parachute correctly, someone would pay the consequence –  Paratroopers used them later on during the war to land and invade Europe

Then I also worked as a Military Policeman.  I basically patrolled the base and acted like regular old policeman.  I enforced speed limits and made sure that guys weren’t AWOL – Absent with out Leave.

Did you ever encounter any problems with the men in your group?

No, I never did.  But there was this one time when I was at McDill Air Force Base.  And we were boarding a bus to head back to base after our pass expired.   After the bus was full, there were still more men loading.  There was a black soldier, who I didn’t know, and he was told he would have to walk to our destination.  I ended up giving up his seat for the black man, and I ended up catching a ride with another vehicle.  The driver of the bus was not very happy with me.

When did you meet Grandma?

I was at Camp Reynolds in Pennsylvania, which was where grandma was from –    And we were at the Clover Club for the night.  She was with a group of her friends and I was with a group of my buddies.  I saw her across the room, so I walked up to her and sat down.  Her friends showed more of an interest in me than Grandma did.  But later on we ended up dancing and I asked her for her number.  I called her at 6:00 a.m. the next morning and asked her out on a date.

What did you do when you had to leave Camp Reynolds?

Well, I was very upset but I knew that I would end up marrying her – After I left, we kept in touch with letters and phone calls.

Was she in the service at that time?

No, I met her in November 1944, and then she joined in February 1945.  I had to wait for her to be discharged so I could marry her.

When was she discharged?

Well, I was discharged on August 18, 1945 – three days after the war was over and she did not finish until 8 months after me.  I think she finished in April of 1946.

(Then he gets my grandma and has her explain a few of the things that she encountered.)

Grandma, what made you decide to join the army?

Well, a friend of mine that I worked with decided that she was going to join and asked me if I would go in with her.  I told her yes, because at the time, we were laid off from work and I thought it would be a good idea since I needed a job.

One of the jobs that I was assigned to do was to work in the mess hall.  While I was doing this, a man came in and told me that they needed me to donate blood to an injured pilot! I have a very rare blood type (O-) and was able to help the pilot.

What other sorts of jobs did you have to do?

I was first stationed at the O’Riley General Hospital as a nurse.  Then later on, I did clerical work and the morning reports.

How was the job of a nurse?

It was very sad.  Day in and day out, I had to deal with wounded soldiers.  It was not a very exciting job.  I just enjoyed comforting and consoling them.  It became normal to walk around the hospital and see men without arms or legs.  I remember a man whose backside was shot out and he needed to have skin graphing done to repair the wound.

How do you feel about war?

Well, for us it was not as devastating because we were not fighting, but war is horrible.  Just about all aspects of war are bad but if it was not for the war, I would not have married your Grandma and you would not be here either.

Analysis
After completing the interview with my grandfather, I came to realize that everyone has a personal war story to tell about their experience, and the only way to learn, with intricate detail, is to sit down one on one and relive the events with him/her all over again.  In doing this with my grandfather, I could see that he was honored to have the opportunity to educate me on a subject that played such a major role in his life.  Although he was not a soldier fighting on the forefront of war, he served his country well for the time he was in the Army.
My grandfather, Levio Baldarelli, was born on December 20, 1924, in Fitchburg Massachusetts.  He had three brothers and four sisters; all four of the boys joined the armed services during WWII.  The two oldest boys went overseas to fight; however, my grandpa did not.  The day of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, my grandfather was in a movie theater enjoying a film.  After hearing of the tragedy, he immediately enlisted in the Army; however, his disability placed a burden on his participation.  As a child, he lost his sight in his left eye, but this did not stop him from serving his country.  He was placed in the Limited Services group and contributed assistance on the home front.  He still had to complete all of the training every person had to endure, just in case he was called upon.  After completing basic training at Fort Devin’s, Massachusetts, he was inducted and then shipped all over the country to carry out the duties that needed to be done for the war.  One of his tasks consisted of inspecting parachutes at a camp in St. Louis, Missouri.  These parachutes were used to train paratroopers who would be invading Europe.  This just goes to show that every small role in the war was vital.  If someone did not pack a parachute correctly, in the end someone would pay the consequence.  He also served as a Military Policeman at Kessler Airfield, Mississippi.  Here, he patrolled the base, enforced speed limits, and watched for AWOL (Absent with out leave) soldiers.  As we have seen in war poetry, the battle for Civil Rights played a major role in previous wars.  My grandfather had his own encounter that he shared with me.  While at McDill Air Force Base, troops were boarding a bus to head back to base after a pass expired.   After the bus was full, there were still more men loading.  A black soldier, whom my grandfather did not know, was told he would have to walk to their destination.  My generous grandfather gave up his seat for that man, and he ended up catching a ride with another vehicle.  The driver of the bus was not very happy with my Grandpa.  This event reminded me of the poem “Defeat” by Witter Bynner, in that both demonstrate the discrimination among black soldiers.  It is quite sad to see that out of a group of men, one single black man could be singled out, and asked to get off the bus; but at the same time, I was pleased to know that my Grandpa did not engage in discriminatory acts.

As we have seen in war poetry, the battle for Civil Rights played a major role in previous wars.  My grandfather had his own encounter that he shared with me.  While at McDill Air Force Base, troops were boarding a bus to head back to base after a pass expired.   After the bus was full, there were still more men loading.  A black soldier, whom my grandfather did not know, was told he would have to walk to their destination.  My generous grandfather gave up his seat for that man, and he ended up catching a ride with another vehicle.  The driver of the bus was not very happy with my Grandpa.  This event reminded me of the poem “Defeat” by Witter Bynner, in that both demonstrate the discrimination among black soldiers.  It is quite sad to see that out of a group of men, one single black man could be singled out, and asked to get off the bus; but at the same time, I was pleased to know that my Grandpa did not engage in discriminatory acts.Another trend that has followed throughout poetry, short stories, and novels we have read are the love stories.  My grandfather was stationed at Camp Reynolds, in Reynolds, Pennsylvania; little did he know that the love of his life would be found just around the corner of that base site.  Ann Demartinas, his future wife and my future grandmother lived in Reynolds, Pennsylvania, near Idaho Street, a quite popular place filled with restaurants and clubs.  One night my Grandpa and a few of his friends stopped in at a restaurant.  After they sat down, my Grandpa immediately showed interest in a young woman across the room, my Grandma.  He walked up to her table and began talking to her and her friends.  In the beginning of the conversation, my grandma blew him off, but her friends “hit on him”.  Later on in the night, they danced together, and she gave him her phone number.  The next morning my grandpa immediately called the number and asked her out on a date.  They continued to see each other until it was time for my Grandpa to transfer bases, but he knew that he would marry her after he was released from the Army.  My grandpa quotes, “She became my motivation to do my best in the Army.”  They kept in touch through phone calls and letters.  After the war ended, he was discharged on August 18, 1945.  However, things did not go according to plan.  My grandma had joined the service in February of 1945; now, leaving my Grandpa waiting for her to be discharged.  The two were constantly on each other’s minds, and they longed for the day when they reunited with one another.  This love story reminded me of the character Jimmy Cross in Tim O’Brien’s story, “The Things They Carried”.  Although my Grandpa was not overseas, he was still a great distance from her.   This gap made my Grandpa’s love for my Grandma extremely strong.  At times, it seemed he was more focused on her rather than his own life with the Army.

I think a major reason my Grandfather wanted to pursue a relationship with my Grandma had to do with the fact that she was a very youthful, innocent women.  In war literature, the soldier is always searching for that innocent woman to latch onto.  I believe my Grandpa saw purity in her that he could not find in the military.  She was his outlet from the men in the army.  Even though my grandfather did not fight in the war overseas, being a part of the military at a time of war took away from his innocence.

I think a major reason my Grandfather wanted to pursue a relationship with my Grandma had to do with the fact that she was a very youthful, innocent women.  In war literature, the soldier is always searching for that innocent woman to latch onto.  I believe my Grandpa saw purity in her that he could not find in the military.  She was his outlet from the men in the army.  Even though my grandfather did not fight in the war overseas, being a part of the military at a time of war took away from his innocence.

Another similarity is between the role of my Grandma in the Army and the monks in the story by Tim O’Brien, “Church”.  My Grandma played an important role as a nurse in helping the soldiers get back on their feet.  While working there, she came face to face with wounded soldiers, as to be expected in a hospital.  She quotes, “one guys back side was shot and they had to use skin graphing to replace the damaged wound.”  As a nurse, she was extremely helpful and supportive to the soldiers, just as the monks were.  She respected them and provided an ear to listen to their problems.  I thought this related to the monks because they assisted Jimmy Cross, Kiowa and others while at the church.  Both the monks and my Grandma played a compassionate role to the soldiers. 

After completing the interview with my Grandparents, I realized how difficult reminiscing about the war is especially once you are older.  Both of my Grandparents are quite elderly, and their memory is not how it once was.  The stories they told jumped from one event to the next, without completing an entire story.  I had a difficult time piecing the sequence of events together and had to ask my Dad to fill in some of the missing links. 

In conclusion, being a part of a war does not only mean fighting face to face with an enemy.  One can experience the hardships without being on the battleground.  My grandparents are living proof of that.  It often seems as if nothing good comes from war, however, I found a few things that could constitute as “good”.  For one, my grandfather would never have been able to travel all over the country and see so many cities and celebrities.  This is one aspect that he emphasized throughout the interview that he was very grateful to have experienced.  But even more, he may never have fallen in love with such a beautiful woman, and had the opportunity to have a family.  If this were the case, I would not be here either.