Rocco Anthony Petrone is born. Six months later, a policeman knocks on Teresa’s door to inform her that her husband, Antonio Petrone, has died in an accident on a railroad construction site. He was the family’s only income. Teresa must decide, and quickly, what to do. She decides to stay in America. With her family’s help, she succeeds. She remarries, to Joseph Sciacca. Rocco becomes a model student and a skilled ice salesman. He is then admitted to West Point and earns a B.Sc. in the fall of 1946. He will make a difference in the Apollo Program. Three figures marked the Apollo Program: a farmer from Basilicata who emigrated to the States along with thousands of Italians in the early decades of the 20th century; a German nobleman who had a passion for rockets since childhood; and a great president who knew how to inspire dreams and who passed away too soon to see his most ambitious dream come true.
