For control and safety, the authorities decided to organize convoys of civilian vehicles at Leghorn, Italy. As evacuees gathered in Leghorn, sponsors were briefed on convoy procedures and, when sufficient families assembled, individual convoys were dispatched, each with a "leader" consisting of Military Police and a "trailer" consisting of a wrecker equipped with tools and manned by qualified mechanics.
We had loaded (or overloaded) the Chevy in Rome with our four-member family and all the personal belongings we had with us. After arriving in Leghorn, receiving the routine orientation, and spending the night there, our contingent was on its way early the next morning. We were the 12th car of a 28 vehicle convoy.
The route Northward was via Pisa, Italy and everyone was anxious to see as much of the famous leaning tower as possible as we passed through. As our convoy approached the famous landmark a few hours later, I happened to apply the foot-brake only to find the pedal floored with practically no pressure at all! There was absolutely no braking action. I then began drifting to slow down and stop. I tried using the emergency brake that was situated on the floorboard beside the stick shift. This brake would only slow us down a bit; it was of no use whatever for making any kind of an emergency or other sudden stop. The only way to stop safely was to slow down to about 10 mph and depend on the emergency brake to eventually bring the car to a halt.
It so happened that, when I finally managed to bring the car to a standstill at the side of the highway, we appeared to be within 100 yards of the Leaning Tower of Pisa! We were understandably in no mood to sightsee under the circumstances. My main objective, as we stopped along the road, was to signal the wrecker to pull over and render assistance. As the wrecker approached, I waved my arms to the driver as a signal for help. Both the driver and his passenger waved back! I couldn't believe it when they continued past us without even slowing down.
What to do? Sightsee? Hang around for the next convoy? For all we knew, that might not take place for another week. We did take a very nervous gander at the famous tower before deciding to drive very carefully northward in the general direction of Germany. Our plan now was to stop (or at least attempt to stop) at the very next service station or auto repair facility.
It is difficult to believe, I know, but we actually crawled along at a snail's pace all day without finding a single service station or repair shop! We were even forced to navigate a flock of single lane, one-way traffic "Bailey Bridges" which had been installed by the military during the war to replace bombed out permanent structures. I was seriously concerned that we may meet an oncoming vehicle on one of these contraptions.
It wasn't until about 5 PM that we spotted what appeared to be a repair shop. We managed to stop there and get some attention from a mechanic. One can imagine our relief when he actually found and fixed a leak in the hydraulic line; thusly once again providing us with an operational foot-brake.
After sleeping for a few hours in the car, we carried on alone, driving through the Brenner Pass; across a narrow portion of Austria; and thru the foothills of the Alps to arrive at Garmisch, Germany late the following day. It was at that location that we finally found a decent place to sleep at a resort hotel operated by the U.S. Armed Forces. Unfortunately, we never did overtake that convoy. I was anxious to have a word or two with that wrecker crew.
Understandably, I still have a mixed reaction each time I see a picture of or hear about that famous Leaning Tower!
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