The Long Way Home Analysis

The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to The Great War is a riveting tell-all of the hardships twelve immigrants endured on their journey, arrival, and duration in America during the Great War. Author, David Laskin, a Harvard graduate with a degree in history and literature, expresses his take on the “forgotten” war, justly representing the traumatizing immigration over to America, the fight to survive upon arrival and the milestone in their journeys, with the conversion into a true American being marked by the fight of a lifetime (Laskin, 2010, p. 16-17). Laskin combines the cohesive progression of accepting the standards imposed on immigrants while introducing a new standard, to tell a grand American chronicle about the
true cost of hope and democracy.
Tommaso Ottaviano, an Italian native, embarked on the journey with his mother and five siblings.
At seventeen, Ottaviano’s father died of diabetes, thrusting Ottaviano into “man of the house” (Laskin, 2010, p. 75). With no husband and five children, Ottaviano’s mother sold all their belongings and boarded the boat to Rhode Island to create a “better life”; the trip over was very chaotic, however with Ottaviano there to provide protection and support, they made it through (Laskin, 2010, p. 75-76). Unlike Ottaviano, Michele Valente, an Italian native as well, experienced his journey alone. He came to America at eighteen, with the influx of people during the prewar immigration from the south of Italy; “though just a kid, he carried himself like a man”, similar to the role Ottaviano assumed on his journey (Laskin, 2010, p.
131).
Upon arrival with 7 people to feed, Ottaviano went to work right away, obtaining the position of machine operator at Esmond Mills (Laskin, 2010, p. 75). His family found a place in the Italian community of Lymansville (Laskin, 2010, p. 75). Ottaviano worked every day, and every cent he brought in went towards his family. As for Valente, he arrived with $30 and an address to his uncle who lived in the northern edge of New York State (Laskin, 2010, p. 131). He moved in with his uncle and got a job as an orderly at St. Lawrence State Hospital; Valente knew there was more to America so he signed up with the 1st regiment of the New York National Guard (Laskin, 2010, p. 131). For people like Valente, people thought they were dangerous, potentially, anti-American (Laskin, 2010, p. 14). He had only been in America for three years however, you could hardly tell he was Italian and he was what officials were looking for to “chase Mexicans in 1916” so he was granted application; sadly, the Expedition ended before he started (Laskin, 2010, p. 131).
After an unsuccessful start, Valente reported for duty in July.
He began training at camp Wadsworth. He was subjected to long days of training and endless drills in tight formation. He stood in trenches and endured the pouring rain and taste of mud (Laskin, 2010, p. 173). His Infantry fused together with the 7th infantry, forming the 107th Infantry of the 27th division (Laskin, 2010, p. 171). In May they were ordered to pack and vacate Camp Wadsworth; after six months of training and five years in America, Valente returned to Europe to fight. He was assigned six months of drill and indoctrination (Laskin, 2010, p. 182). On September 29,1918, Valente stormed a German machine-gun nest, took a bullet to the wrist, proceeded on, killing five Germans and taking 21 prisoners with Joe Mastine; Valente became the only Italian-American to win the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War I (Laskin, 2010, p. 289). Tommaso was inducted on April 27th; having the option to decline enrollment, being the sole provider for his family, Ottaviano refused and accepted the invitation to serve his adopted country (Laskin, 2010, p. 186-187). He shipped out a few weeks after induction with the bare minimum training unlike Valente. He was assigned to Company I of the 310th Infantry. They left for France May 20th. In a letter home, Tommaso referred to the environment as “sconvolgimento”-devastation (Laskin, 2010, p. 296). He saw mass numbers of casualties the most strenuous being “zona di guerra”.
He was forced to throw grenades and jab bayonets into the enemy; watching them painfully die (Laskin, 2010, p. 343). In 1918 Tommaso claimed “we are praying” for the end of the war; on November 22,1918, he died from “wounds in action” (Laskin, 2010, p.264).
Upon the harsh adjustment to life in America, Laskin willfully portrays the heartbreaking story of how twelve men were swept into the ordeal of war; engaging in danger, all in effort to establish life as an American citizen; his point of view, derived from diaries and letters, illustrates the saddening battles they faced, putting their lives on the line, fighting for a country, that was not natively theirs. It is an unforgettable saga of the great War, the society it created, and the men who fearlessly headed it; suitable for anyone seeking the truth about the great minds behind the successful place called America.