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K**nmh* V*ws photoFred Caracciolo with photos and mementosKenoshan visits family that saved himVillage visit first since warBy KAY JONES Staff WriterIt sounds like a Hollywood version of World War II but Kenoshan Fred Caracclolo’s teardrops when he tells his story testify to its truth.In 1944, Caracciolo was a young corporal with the U S Army liberation forces in The Philippines They had fought at Guadalcanal, Bougainville and Rabaul and had returned to The Phillipines as Gen. McArthur had promised While on patrol in the mountainous region north of Manila, Caracciolo fell victim to tropical diseases and collapsed In the jungle heat.Unconscious and near death, he was found by a young Filipino man who carried Caracciolo to the family's primitive hut.There Caracciolo remained delirious and with a high fever, resting on a board bed softened only by a thin blanket. The Filipino’s mother and sister nursed the sick soldier with herbs and cold compresses After two weeks, MPs located Caracciolo in the hamlet near Quezon City and sent an ambulance to take him to the Army Field Hospital in Manila. He lingered on the edge of life, recovering only after six weeks oftreatment for malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever.While regaining his strength in Manila, Caracciolo visited the hamlet several times, at first to thank the family that had saved his life and later as a friend.He promised, before being shipped out, to keep in touch.Last month, Caracciolo visited the hamlet for an emotional reunion with the family that had saved his life 37 years agoAfter discharge, Caracciolo had returned to Kenosha where he married and reared two sons. He has been active in St. Mary’s Lutheran Church and retired in 1976 as a supervisor at American Motors Corp. He currently manages the Danish Brotherhood His family has always heard stories about The Philippines and the family that saved his life, but in the press of building a new life after the war, Caracciolo had not kept in touch.Then seven years ago, he says, while he was leafing through an old photograph album, he realized that he wished he had.“Time slips away from you. I had just let these people go out of my life.” He wanted to make contact again.He wrote to the Balmes family and a correspondence began that resulted in the recent trip.He flew to Manila Feb. 2, arriving to a welcome fit for a hero or a son in the small villageThe streets near the Balmes family’s home were decorated with brightly colored banners and lined with friends and neighbors to welcome himHe was, he was told, the only American soldier to return to Quezon City since the end of the warHe recognized the hamlet and the house. Tin roofs had replaced most of the thatched roofs he remembered Concrete walls and floors were now common The houses have electricityBut it looked much the same and Caracciolo found the same love and warmth and cheerfulness in the people that he remembered from 1944He was welcomed by Blackie, the man who had carried him to. help when he was so ill: Mother Balmes and her daughter Loretta, who had nursed him, and countless relatives, many of whom had been born since Caracciolo had left 37 years ago During his 15-dav visit he was treated like a king despite the poverty of the village “The president couldn’t have got better treatment than I got There wasn't anything they couldn’t do for me.” he says A family member who is a policeman provided a guard wherever Caracciolo went Bombings in populated areas by revolutionaries are not uncommon in The Philippines.He was presented with a Barong, a traditional embroidered shirt worn by the upper classes and visiting dignitaries Once again he slept on a board bed like the one on which he had recuperated 37 years ago The Balmes family is like his own family to him, Caracciolo says. They laugh and tease him like family members would and they cried a little together when he had to leave again Unemployment is very high and wages very low in the area, he said Meat is too expensive to eat often Fish and rice are the mainstays of their diet.English is taught in the schools from the early grades so communication was no problem Caracciolo has never been able to master the difficult Tagalog dialect spoken in The Phillipines The night before Caracciolo’s plane left, the house was crowded for a farewell party that lasted from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.Caracciolo brought back many more pictures for his album and a tape recording of the folk songs sung for him at the party The songs are full of warmth and love, he says. Like the people
Newspaper Details
Kenosha News Courier
Kenosha, Wisconsin, US
Wed, Mar 03, 1982
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Kenosha P.
Wi, USA 04 Jun 2024
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