Epilogue
After putting my "Italy pages" together and reading them over, I decided a final page should be created; one which would touch upon a few events that occurred between October, 1944, and today.
One might get the impression that after my father's death I grew up an orphan, deprived of a paternal role model and a father's care. Nothing could be further from the truth. A little less than two years after the crash my mother was fortunate enough to meet, and marry, George Gawley of East Orange, New Jersey. A short time later George legally adopted me and my name was changed from Gene Michael Glanert to Gene Michael Gawley.
George and Doris (my mother) are still married and live in Bloomfield, New Jersey. During August, 1996, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The party was attended by my "half-sister" Anne, who lives with her husband and two sons in Michigan, and my "half-brother" Rob, who lives in Bloomfield not too far from the folks. I have never thought of myself as being "adopted", nor do I think of Anne and Rob as being anything less than my full sister and brother. By the time I was three years old, I had a new father and my life has been perfectly normal ever since.
The hunt for my father's crash site was done to seek out a piece of my history, and to pay my respects to a man I never got to know. A man who perished at age 23 while serving his country. A person who, like the other young men in his crew who died with him, and the countless thousands of others who died in the war, should never be forgotten.
As a bonus, my mission allowed me to meet many kind and wonderful people who took me into their hearts and homes and helped me achieve my goals. I hope to return to Italy in September of 1997 and look forward to meeting these fine people again.
Goto my Italy page