Caro Giovanni (Dear John)

<p><strong style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>John Brauner </strong><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>my father</span><strong style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)> </strong><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>was a radioman in the Infantry during World War II</span><strong style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>. </strong><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>He arrived in Italy in early 1945 as part of General Mark Clark's 5</span><sup style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>th</sup><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)> Army. By early spring he was stationed in Northern Italy where he met </span><strong style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>Mafalda Riccadonna</strong><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)> who became his friend and correspondent until 1950. After his death in 1980 my siblings and I began searching through the contents of his US Army trunk which was filled with souvenirs memorabilia and personal letters. We came across return letters to my father from Mafalda. My father returned home to the United States in August 1945 but continued to receive letters from </span><strong style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>Mafalda</strong><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)> until 1950.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>My research gave me insight into how the two decades under the thumb of Mussolini gave the Italian people the courage necessary to fight for their country and its soldiers. It is from this exploration that my novel Caro Giovanni was conceived. It is a blend of truth and fiction based on historical events from 1942-1945 when the war ended in Europe. It struck me so often that our own nation is now faced with the possibility of having our democracy altered in ways that we cannot begin to imagine. The Italian people must've felt the same when Mussolini first arrived on the scene.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>Eventually </span><strong style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>Giovanni</strong><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)> must leave Trento but </span><strong style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)>Mafalda</strong><span style=color: rgba(83 85 85 1)> continues to write letters to him about her family in the aftermath of the bloody destruction that devastated much of western Europe. Unlike the United States European countries like Italy experienced long-standing devastation and deprivation that went on well into the 1950s. </span></p>