HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.27.22 Board Correspondence - FW_ Italian POW Remembrance Ride for Aldo Arrighi
From:Paulsen, Shaina
To:BOS
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Italian POW Remembrance Ride for Aldo Arrighi
Date:Monday, June 27, 2022 10:48:43 AM
Please see Board Correspondence below.
Shaina Paulsen
Associate Clerk of The Board
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120
From: Sue Miller <suemiller64@yahoo.com>
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2022 10:14 AM
To: bjohnson@gridley.ca.us
Subject: Italian POW Remembrance Ride for Aldo Arrighi
ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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Hello,
My name is Sue Miller, I am a U.S. Army veteran and married to a retired U.S. Army
Officer.
About a year and a half ago, during the beginning of the Covid pandemic, I was
reading postings on my local Newport News, VA Facebook page and found the
Facebook page of Andrea Franzoni (https://www.facebook.com/andrea.franzoni.37),
from Villanuova sul Clisi, Province of Brescia, Italy.
Andrea was searching for information and historic documentation about Italian POWs
who were held in the United States during WWII. Andrea’s Grandfather, Aldo Arrighi,
was one of those POWs.
During that same time, I was home, with Covid, and began reading and researching
the plight of the Italian POWs and became fascinated with this piece of history. I
actually lived on Fort Eustis, VA, where Grandfather Aldo was first held upon his
arrival, after he was captured from the battlefields of Europe and transported via ship
to Virginia.
While home, in Italy, Andrea embarked on a ‘virtual’ cross country bicycle ride (on his
stationary bike) and rode the ENTIRE distance his grandfather Aldo’s journey took
him, as a POW, from Virginia, through the southern states and up the west coast to
Washington.
As an Italian Prisoner of War (POW), Grandfather Aldo was transported by ship to
Newport News, Virginia and transferred via train across the United States and
eventually held as a POW near Fort Lewis, Washington. Andrea rode his stationary
bike the entire distance from Virginia, following all the POW railroad tracks and POW
camps where his grandfather, Aldo, was held!!
Aldo Arrighi was born in Goglione, a small town that now is Prevalle, Italy." About two
years ago, Aldo passed away and Andrea wants to commemorate his Grandfather
Aldo’s life, military service and his time as a POW by riding from Seattle, Washington
to Florence, Arizona (where Aldo spent several months in a POW camp). Andrea
anticipates he will start in Seattle in late July and take approximately 2 months to ride
a bike to Florence, AZ.
It was Aldo and Andrea’s dream to make this trip together, but that journey never
happened. Andrea wants to honor his Grandfather Aldo by making this memorable
journey.
Did you know that the United States held 51,000 Italian POWs during WWII? Of the
51,000 Italian POWS being held at the time, over 45,000 joined the Service Units and
were sent to places with a shortage of labor manpower across the United States.
Aldo was assigned to many of these “service units.”
Andrea, myself and others are spreading the word about the bike ride and requesting
assistance from host families along the route.
IF you are able to sponsor, help, support, or coordinate this effort in any way, please
follow Andrea on Facebook or: https://www.facebook.com/Train-Long-Gone-Tribute-
to-Aldo-Arrighi-110948640822144 or Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/train_long_gone/ or the “Go Fund
Me” site: https://www.gofundme.com/f/train-long-gone-for-aldo?
utm_campaign=p_cp+share-
sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer
Please share this POW Remembrance Ride with others in your family, community,
social media, local newspapers/TV news stations, Italian Club newsletters, etc….