La Lunga Liberazione=The Long Liberation

A new friend, Laurie, told me about this exhibit near the center of town. I told her I enjoyed photography and she told me her husband had a hand in the design of the exhibit, so I was more than eager to have a look. We walked into the building knowing it was a war exhibit. There needs to be a bit of emotional preparation or at least awareness before looking at photos like these. I have never been a history buff, unlike my father, therefore I learned a lot in the span of a short afternoon. The photos, summaries, timelines and other pieces of information helped me to understand the events more than I have before. The exhibit was exceptional; it focused on the liberation of Italy by the Allies from 1943 to 1945. The photos were haunting, the war footage, some silent and some with first hand commentaries were very moving.

In my family, only recently has my sister Sara detailed the story of how my parents with the help of my godfather, David Parsons, helped our family escape from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. Being just an infant at the time I am more than glad I don’t remember any of the events. Still, I was pained when I looked at the photos in the exhibit, for they made me think of my parents during wartime. It was a very intense afternoon.