Shortly after the United States entered World War II, all four of the Compton children chose to serve their country. Dan commanded a Navy PT Boat in the Pacific. Jim, a Marine Lieutenant, led his platoon in the liberation of Iwo Jima. Ann served in a Navy hospital as a social worker with the American Red Cross. John Parker, the youngest, left Princeton University after his freshman year to train with the 10th Mountain Division on skis, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He fought with the 10th in the Italian Alps. Near the small village of Iola in the mountains northwest of Florence, a sniper’s bullet ended his promising young life. The untimely death of John Parker, the tragic loss of so many young people, and the impact of this devastating war on the whole world moved Dorothy and Randolph to establish a charitable trust in 1946. The primary mission they set for the trust was to build the foundations for peace and to help prevent another world war. Shortly after the end of World War II, Dorothy and Randolph visited the village of Iola and made friends with the village priest and local residents. Later they helped make possible the rebuilding of their bombed-out church. The parish installed a plaque in John Parker’s memory at the entrance to the church which commemorates his death and the bond formed between his parents and the people of Iola.