Posters

Back in 1985, as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force, I was given a choice unaccompanied assignment to work alongside the Italian Air Force at a NATO cruise missile base in Sicily. The job required someone with a Master's degree in Italian and a minimum of two years in country. They could not find anyone with those qualifications, so they sent me. I could say “Spaghetti”, “Ravioli” and “Pizza” —which was the extent of my Italian.

It was a pretty intensive immersion in the language and culture (not to mention the mission) but in the process I fell in love with the people, the land, the history, the cuisine —pretty much everything.

So 20 years after I left, I returned with my wife and spent a glorious time with old friends (now lieutenant colonels at the point of retirement) visiting the places and people I loved. These and many other photos, taken with a small digital camera, are some of the memories of that trip.