Rome was cleaner than other towns, and the people were clean and well-dressed, considering, he added. The stores were full of things but also expensive. The Red Cross had a bus tour, including a guide, so Danny had looked over “the famous sights of Roma,” including St. Paul’s church, the Coliseum, and the Catacombs.
The Wilsons weren’t Catholic, but on Christmas Eve, Danny attended “what they call Midnight Mass” at St. Peter’s Church in Vatican City. The place was huge and beautiful, he said. “Pope Pius XII was going to be there, so we figured we would go to see the Pope, if nothing else. We got in there and came quickly to the conclusion that quite a number of other people had the same idea. So, we found ourselves in a predicament that we began wishing we weren’t in. Yea, it was ‘fascinating’ to see what people do and try to get by with in a crowd. I was looking for a bunch of damn Monks to bunt through and start a second layer. ha. . . . Oh yes, I got to see the Pope.”
Later there was a Christmas party at the hotel for orphan kids who received gifts and “had a swell time.” He added that they were more fortunate than kids and people living among the ruins of their bombed towns.
This is a souvenir from his trip to Rome, which was sent home with his effects after he was Missing in Action on February 19, 1945.
What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers is my journey of research into what happened to the three who were lost. Dan Wilson is pictured in the center of both book covers.
