In the Spring of 1968, in the beautiful city of Firenze, Toscana, Gerald Elefante, my grandfather was born. Per his father, “Boy had a smile that could light up the heavens”, a defining trait that he kept with him, for his entire life. He was as smart as he was happy, and in his 16th year, he persuaded his parents to send him to America for schooling, to the “land of freedom”. A month later, his parents received their first mail from their son, reading; “Da Dio, I love this country! Everyone is so cool and nice, and all my friends have piercings! (Don’t worry, I didn’t get any!) Mom, per your request, I haven’t had any major issues with the other kids, except this one guy called me ‘mafia’, so I just told him my dad would have his ticket if he messed with me, and he ran away! Amore, Jerry”. A couple years later, Jerry found himself at Rutgers University, studying to be a mechanic. In the very same year, Jerry’s father Louis unfortunately passed away, and Jerry flew back to Firenze for the funeral, putting his schooling on halt. While in his old home, he saw his father’s old reading glasses by the fireplace, and remembered how he always used to tell him great stories of the Second World War, how the Germans had occupied their beautiful city, blowing up and destroying history in their path, until the Allies came in, Americans included, and fought off the invaders, liberating Firenze from Hitler’s clutches. “I wished I could have been with them Gerald, as I huddled in the back of our apartment with your mother, wishing and praying for God to make those men succeed”, Louis had said. As Jerry looked at his father’s grave, he realized that he could fulfill the wish his father had made, and as soon as he landed back in America, he enlisted in the service, and was placed in the United States Air Force. As he recalls, “it was something like a dream to serve for the country I love, and in memory of the greatest man I ever knew.” After several decades in the service, Jerry retired as a proud and distinguished Captain, and spent the rest of his days in a small house in Cary, watching after his young grandson that bore his signature grin.
