Galaher Family

As instructors, members of the 2662 detachment had passes that allowed them more or less unrestricted travel in their free time. While stationed in Sepino eight of them decided to make their way through a nearby gorge, possibly near Guardiaregia or Guardia. This group was made up of Ed Link, Gordy Wren, Bob Galaher, Cliff Schmidtke, Freddy Pieren, Carl Blanchard, Herb Rasor and Jack Kappler. The story that follows was written by Gordon Wren.

Hi Jack, Do you remember this? As you may guess I wrote it to send to Caroline. I doubt if she even saw the thing. I'm always digging something out... Galaher did the painting in watercolor for me.

Gordon Wren

Started Sept 26, finished it Oct 3, 1944.

You will wonder before you get through this, how I have so much time. ha.-. Someday I will tell you. This is going to be about an adventure eight of us had a long time ago. Nothing tactical, but very amusing. At least to all of us, and true.

Not many miles from where we were stationed was a very deep gorge leading down from a range of mountains. We could see from very high up on the mountains, that it was very narrow in places, as well as bottomless. Someone had the big inspiration of wondering if anyone had ever been through it. That started us off. For days we talked of it and we even got ahold of an aerial photo map to measure it's length from one end to the other. We figured with its winding and twisting it would be about two and one half or three miles through the part we were interested in.

At the end of the gorge was a very flat and wide valley; and also a small town just on the right side of the last bit of the canyon, as it began lowering into the flat valley.

We managed to get a vehicle (truck) and went from our base via a round-about way to the valley and to the city. We even had a interpreter. Using him as our means of understanding the Italians, (Though we had found four or five men who had been to the States many years previous, who could speak fairly well.) we asked if anyone had ever been down and through the gorge. You could see alarm and a immediate look of puzzlement on their faces. Well it seemed no one had ever been through it. Years before (they said) a party had started down and after going part way, they decided it was impossible, so they had turned back having one "heck of a time" getting up and out of some of the places they had came down. Naturally, this made us a bit dubious, but not trusting a Iti (short for Italian), or his judgment we decided a few days later, that on the first day we had free again, we were going to shoot the works.

So it came — our free day was to be a thursday (anyhow I'll say thursday, because I'm not sure). I think Wednesday night everyone prayed for a Sun-shining, warm day. For we knew it would be cold as the dickens down in the gorge. Also we expected to have to swim, therefore getting plenty wet. (It was good we did prepare to swim, because swim we did, almost half way). We've probably all prayed for powdered snow for skiing, but probably never far a good warm day so we could go on a crazy adventure like this one.

Our Captain Link arranged for a truck and we left our area at eight O'clock that thursday morning. We drove to that small town at the foot of the gorge. Also our wish was granted as to weather—it was a good day.

NEXT PAGE    Back to Home

Matthew Galaher may be contacted via e-mail at galaher@mac.com