In 1960 I was in the army, stationed in Ansbach, Germany, and I decided to take some leave time and go to Molfetta, Italy, the birthplace of both my parents…

In July of 1949, I was just eleven years old. Palma, who was 18, invited a young man to our house, so that he could ask my father’s permission to marry her….

When my mother was 28 years old, she came to America from Italy, with her 3-year-old daughter, in steerage class, on a ship named the Vulcania. She had ocean sickness for the entire trip….

To friends and aquaintences, my father was a wonderful storyteller, who could make you laugh with his impersonations of those he found fault with. They also found him to be very cordial, generous and kind…

Imagine starting on a journey to a new land, with a three-year-old daughter in hand—and waiting for you at the end of your journey, a husband you haven’t seen for four years….

My wife Marie’s mother, Mary DeGennaro LoBasso, came to the United States in 1930 at the age of 16, along with her two older siblings, Sergio and Antoinette….

When he came over, Judy was with him, and he seemed excited to tell me something. He and Judy had also become engaged, and he wanted me to be in his wedding. I said of course, I would be honored, and extended my invitation for him to be in our wedding….

It was our yearly Christmas call. I was tease him about the cold weather they must be having in New York while Marie and I were walking on the beach, but Tony changed the subject, asking me if I was sitting down—because he had some news….

Now twenty-six and engaged to be married, Gaetano decided to leave Italy again, promising his wife-to-be that he would return in three years. And after traveling to France, he departed from Cherbourg on the ship Gothland on October 9, 1920….

After being here for almost two years, Papa decided to obtain citizenship, and inquired from an influential Italian-American how to go about it—but without having to go to classes to study American Civics and History….

A passport had already been paid for, a little money set aside for the voyage, and so it was decided that someone was going to use this opportunity to go to America and start earning money to support the family back in Molfetta, Italy!…

The year was 1938. My father owned a large truck which he used for whatever job could earn him some money. It seems that a family was moving to Baltimore, Maryland, and they offered Papa $50.00 to move their household belongings….