JOHN FELICE ROME CENTER


Tour of duty P


By BRENDAN KEATING (BA ‘01, JD ‘04)


hil O’Connor can pinpoint the moment his life changed. “One weekend, I was hitchhiking from Pisa with my friend, when an Italian vintner picked us up,”


he says. “On the way, the driver explained that he had served in the Italian army in World War II. He pulled over to the side of the road and pointed down at the American cemetery just south of Florence. With tears in his eyes, he thanked us, even though we hadn’t even been born when the men of our par- ents’ generation died fighting in Italy.” Everyone who visits Rome becomes a student of history. It


Phil O’Connor


seems that every alleyway, church, and column has a thou- sand tales to tell. But O’Connor (JFRC ’68–’69, BA ’70) and fellow JFRC alum Jim Centner (JFRC ’66–’67) have devoted considerable time, energy, and personal funds to educating JFRC students about Rome and Italy during World War II.


CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE


Phil O’Connor (JFRC ’68–’69, BA ’70) and Jim Centner (JFRC ’66–’67) honor the past by offering tours of WWII sites to JFRC students


SUMMER 2010


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