ALTO-CASINCA

Mister Jean-Marie FRISONI’s testimony

In the years 1943-1944I was less than twelve. I saw after sheeps with my father at Campo di Santi. It’s near the Fium’ Alto between the bridge and Folelli.
French soldiers were fixed up above the present road, Americans and others (I don’t no more know if it was Englishmen or Australians) were underlying at the riverside.
An Infantry’s battalion composed with North African soldiers was fixed up farest.
Frenchmen went looking for water with tanks uper on the river near Caldane. A soldier made me once climbing in the truck and I went with them !
As the bridge on the Fium’ Alto was weakened they built a sort of ford which reached the old road to Taglio-Isolaccio crossroad.
Although it wasn’t very warm, bathed American soldiers naked in the river. The men of Corsica wasn’t very happy because their wives washed in the river…
To us, children, gave Americans always something : candies, delicacies, fruits. One day made one of them laughing an orange rolling to me.
They also gave american sliced bread for animals, but sometimes ate we it.
Once they gave us a big and high squared can. It weighted 20 or 25 kg (they name that the “took”). But we didn’t understand what they said, so didn’t we know what it contained. When coming home we saw it was flour. A few days later as we cooked dairy cheese donuts, we chose to cook some more and to bring them to give thanks.
When we got to the camp we soon felt the weighty, gloomy atmosphere. They explained us that one of the pilots (perhaps two, I don’t remember exactly) didn’t come back home.

Photo : Michèle Battesti