Osvaldo Severino Quattrin and Alessandra Bomben
Birth: 10 Feb 1898, Zoppola, Italy
Death: 9 Oct 1934, Zoppola, Italy
Death: 9 Oct 1934, Zoppola, Italy
Spouse: Alessandra Bomben
Birth: 11 Jul 1907, Zoppola, Italy
Marriage: 22 Aug 1927, Zoppola, Italy
Children: Rosina Elisa (1930- ?)
Sergio Giovanni (1930-1966)
Birth: 11 Jul 1907, Zoppola, Italy
Marriage: 22 Aug 1927, Zoppola, Italy
Children: Rosina Elisa (1930- ?)
Sergio Giovanni (1930-1966)
Osvaldo Severino was born on February 10, 1898, in the town of Zoppola, Friuli, Italy. He was the fourth child and second son of Giovanni Battista (Tita) Quattrin and Elisabetta De Paoli. Osvaldo was named after his grandfather Perbacco’s father Osvaldo, the first Quattrin to be freed from serfdom. Osvaldo was educated in the local school and worked every day in the fields. He likely had a third or fourth grade education. He could read and write in both Italian and Frulan and perform basic mathematics.
Like his brother Andrea, Osvaldo worked in the fields most days from an early age and learned all the skills needed to become a farmer like all his ancestors. He went to Mass every Sunday and participated in all the Feast Days and town rituals. In 1913, Andrea went to America to work at Italian Swiss Colony vineyard in Lemoore, California, and, at the age of 15, Osvaldo became the focus of his father’s efforts and attention. Two years later, the War broke out.
Like Andrea, Osvaldo was drafted when he turned 18. His military record describes him as 5’ 5”, with a 35” chest, brown curly hair, a Greek nose, oval chin, and a healthy complexion.
Osvaldo assigned to the 14th Field Artillery Regiment "Ferrara" (14° Reggimento Artiglieria "Ferrara", which was actually formed in Pesaro) and stationed in Trieste. They fought in several of the Battles on the Isonzo River. During the retreat to the Piave river after the Battle of Caporetto the regiment participated in delaying actions at the Tagliamento river and then in the First Battle of the Piave River. Osvaldo was injured during the retreat and found fit only for sedentary service afterwards. The injury was undisclosed. It might have been a physical injury or a disease like malaria or trench foot. But it might also have been what the Italians called vento dell'obice (the wind of the howitzer), which was a form of shell shock. Osvaldo was luckier than his brother Andrea, who was captured and marched to an Albanian POW camp.
Osvaldo was transferred to the 30th Artillery Regiment which had been stationed at Conegliano, but, by later 1917, it was positioned on Monte Meletta di Gallio and Monte Tondarecar on the Piave River. This unit was involved in the Second Battle of the Piave River in June 1918. They were near Candelù where they participated in repelling an Austro-Hungarian attack. During the final and decisive Battle of Vittorio Veneto in October 1918, which included fighting at Mount Grappa. The regiment crossed the Piave river near Ormelle and were at this location when the news of the Armistice of Villa Giusti, which ended the war on the Italian front, reached the regiment.
Like his brother Andrea, Osvaldo worked in the fields most days from an early age and learned all the skills needed to become a farmer like all his ancestors. He went to Mass every Sunday and participated in all the Feast Days and town rituals. In 1913, Andrea went to America to work at Italian Swiss Colony vineyard in Lemoore, California, and, at the age of 15, Osvaldo became the focus of his father’s efforts and attention. Two years later, the War broke out.
Like Andrea, Osvaldo was drafted when he turned 18. His military record describes him as 5’ 5”, with a 35” chest, brown curly hair, a Greek nose, oval chin, and a healthy complexion.
Osvaldo assigned to the 14th Field Artillery Regiment "Ferrara" (14° Reggimento Artiglieria "Ferrara", which was actually formed in Pesaro) and stationed in Trieste. They fought in several of the Battles on the Isonzo River. During the retreat to the Piave river after the Battle of Caporetto the regiment participated in delaying actions at the Tagliamento river and then in the First Battle of the Piave River. Osvaldo was injured during the retreat and found fit only for sedentary service afterwards. The injury was undisclosed. It might have been a physical injury or a disease like malaria or trench foot. But it might also have been what the Italians called vento dell'obice (the wind of the howitzer), which was a form of shell shock. Osvaldo was luckier than his brother Andrea, who was captured and marched to an Albanian POW camp.
Osvaldo was transferred to the 30th Artillery Regiment which had been stationed at Conegliano, but, by later 1917, it was positioned on Monte Meletta di Gallio and Monte Tondarecar on the Piave River. This unit was involved in the Second Battle of the Piave River in June 1918. They were near Candelù where they participated in repelling an Austro-Hungarian attack. During the final and decisive Battle of Vittorio Veneto in October 1918, which included fighting at Mount Grappa. The regiment crossed the Piave river near Ormelle and were at this location when the news of the Armistice of Villa Giusti, which ended the war on the Italian front, reached the regiment.
Osvaldo was granted unlimited leave in 1919 during the Armistice, with a declaration that he had maintained good conduct and had served with loyalty and honor. He returned home, like many Zoppolani, very much worse for the wear. In The Legends and Traditions of the Great War: Monte Grappa, Rich Galli states:
As much as Verdun or Gallipoli, the attrition on Monte Grappa embodies the Great War. But this rarely mentioned battlefield has another quality that makes its story additionally dramatic. Imagine the Somme with a two-thousand-foot elevation gain for every mile. Or imagine Ypres having forty-degree rock slopes with trenches chiseled out of solid stone. Extreme effort and high casualties were always expected during First World War attacks. Imagine, however, advancing up mountain slopes, over barren rock, in dense cloud and howling wind or in a horizontal blizzard of sleet or snow. The incredible resiliency and tactical effectiveness of the Italian infantryman and his stalwart enemy, the troops of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire, stands out amongst the fighters of the Great War.
http://www.worldwar1.com/heritage/mtg1.htm
Upon returning to Zoppola, Osvaldo went back to his former occupation as a farmer. In 2004, his baby sister Palmira wrote in her diary,
I remember when I was a child — my brother went to work as a carpenter. Father loved him very much and always watched him. He used to say, “If he can reach this skill, I will help him right away.” Later my brother became a fine worker. Father always said he wanted his son to be good and stay close to his mother. I remember this — I was seven years old. We were a good family; Mother blessed him.
While Andrea returned to America in 1920 and was followed by Poldi and Johnny, Osvaldo was the son who stayed at home.
On August 22, 1927, Osvaldo married Alessandra Bomben at the Church of San Martino Vescovo. He was 29, and she was 20. (Andrea had married Emilia Petris there just six months previously.) Allesandra was the tenth child of Angelo Giovanni Bomben and Rosa Sartor. Osvaldo and Allesandra had known each other all their lives.
Osvaldo and Allesandra moved into Casa Quattrin with his parents and soon had two children--a son, Sergio Giovanni, was born in November of 1927, and a daughter, Rosina Elisa, was born in 1930.
Tragedy struck the family on October 9, 1934, when Osvaldo died in an accident. In America, the story came down that he was home on a 20-day leave in Zoppola from the military where he was a bike messenger and had been singing and partying with friends. He went out on his motorcycle and got into a fatal accident, leaving behind his wife and two children. Evidence does not support the idea that he was in the military again in 1934, but we are still looking into the story.
It is not known if, after Osvaldo died, his widow stayed living in the Quattrin House or if she moved back in with her parents. As to the children, Palmira would write of her nephew Sergio:
My nephew Sergio began to work like my father — also doing jobs for others, earning a little money. Sergio was young, with so many friends. When my father worked bending over the iron, Sergio was always there, watching and learning — he became a fine young man. Now he’s dead.
Sergio never married and died in 1966, at the age of 39. His sister Rosina Elisa, who had been named after Osvaldo’s eldest sister and his mother, married Giovanni Zussi and died at the age of 21. This branch of the family ended with them.
As much as Verdun or Gallipoli, the attrition on Monte Grappa embodies the Great War. But this rarely mentioned battlefield has another quality that makes its story additionally dramatic. Imagine the Somme with a two-thousand-foot elevation gain for every mile. Or imagine Ypres having forty-degree rock slopes with trenches chiseled out of solid stone. Extreme effort and high casualties were always expected during First World War attacks. Imagine, however, advancing up mountain slopes, over barren rock, in dense cloud and howling wind or in a horizontal blizzard of sleet or snow. The incredible resiliency and tactical effectiveness of the Italian infantryman and his stalwart enemy, the troops of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire, stands out amongst the fighters of the Great War.
http://www.worldwar1.com/heritage/mtg1.htm
Upon returning to Zoppola, Osvaldo went back to his former occupation as a farmer. In 2004, his baby sister Palmira wrote in her diary,
I remember when I was a child — my brother went to work as a carpenter. Father loved him very much and always watched him. He used to say, “If he can reach this skill, I will help him right away.” Later my brother became a fine worker. Father always said he wanted his son to be good and stay close to his mother. I remember this — I was seven years old. We were a good family; Mother blessed him.
While Andrea returned to America in 1920 and was followed by Poldi and Johnny, Osvaldo was the son who stayed at home.
On August 22, 1927, Osvaldo married Alessandra Bomben at the Church of San Martino Vescovo. He was 29, and she was 20. (Andrea had married Emilia Petris there just six months previously.) Allesandra was the tenth child of Angelo Giovanni Bomben and Rosa Sartor. Osvaldo and Allesandra had known each other all their lives.
Osvaldo and Allesandra moved into Casa Quattrin with his parents and soon had two children--a son, Sergio Giovanni, was born in November of 1927, and a daughter, Rosina Elisa, was born in 1930.
Tragedy struck the family on October 9, 1934, when Osvaldo died in an accident. In America, the story came down that he was home on a 20-day leave in Zoppola from the military where he was a bike messenger and had been singing and partying with friends. He went out on his motorcycle and got into a fatal accident, leaving behind his wife and two children. Evidence does not support the idea that he was in the military again in 1934, but we are still looking into the story.
It is not known if, after Osvaldo died, his widow stayed living in the Quattrin House or if she moved back in with her parents. As to the children, Palmira would write of her nephew Sergio:
My nephew Sergio began to work like my father — also doing jobs for others, earning a little money. Sergio was young, with so many friends. When my father worked bending over the iron, Sergio was always there, watching and learning — he became a fine young man. Now he’s dead.
Sergio never married and died in 1966, at the age of 39. His sister Rosina Elisa, who had been named after Osvaldo’s eldest sister and his mother, married Giovanni Zussi and died at the age of 21. This branch of the family ended with them.
