A FEB (Brazilian Expeditionary Force) platoon arrives at a clearing in the Garfagnana Valley, in Northern Italy. The camp is close to another Allied platoon, formed by an American division and a few English soldiers. The Brazilian tents are about 200m from the Allied camp, but there is total freedom of movement between the soldiers, who try to mingle. The Brazilians notice that things are disappearing from the troop’s pantry. Boxes with canned food, rapadura (cane sugar candy), cachaça (sugar cane spirit), blankets, and even ammunition disappear. The kitchen staff asks to speak to the commander and complains. American soldiers were seen lurking around the tents. The Brazilian colonel went to speak to the American officers and received laughter as a response: “This is a war, not a boarding school. The men are tense, they need to blow off steam. You better know how to protect your equipment and that’s it,” and the meeting is adjourned. Annoyed, the Brazilian commander returns and reports the meeting to his soldiers. Upon finishing, he pauses for a moment in silence, while the men mutter and whisper. “Those are the rules. I mean, there are no rules here. So do what you have to do,” the commander concludes. Days later, the American officer visits the Brazilians and, humbly, asks: “As for the food, clothes, and ammunition, that’s fine. But, please, return our TANK!”. Lesson learned: Don’t steal from us because we’ll do worse!!! And it’s basically a Sherman Firefly with the Brazilian army insignia.
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