During WWII, the US Fifth Army liberated Rome on June 4, 1944. Rome had been considered the heart of Fascist Italy under Mussolini’s rule, and the liberation dealt a blow to Nazi Germany’s morale. Rome was one of three Axis capitals and had been under German control since 1943. Not only was the liberation symbolically and strategically important, but defending the city caused Germany to divert resources away from France, further strengthening the Allied position with D-Day landings in Normandy occurring two days later, on June 6, 1944.
In September 1943, Lt. General Mark W. Clark’s Fifth Army boarded landing crafts and dodged minefields to come ashore at the beaches of Paestum and Salerno. At the time of the invasion, the Fifth Army consisted of the VI American Corps, including the 36th and 45th infantry divisions and the 82nd Airborne Division. It also included the 10 British Corps 46 and 56 divisions, and 7 Armoured Division. Upon landing, the Fifth Army joined forces with the British Eighth Army and endured heavy fighting, advancing north to Naples and capturing the city in October.
The Fifth Army continued the advance northward along the western flank, while the British Eight Army advanced up the country’s eastern side. The winter months brought slow progress with ferocious fighting in rugged terrain as Allied forces crossed swollen rivers and mountain peaks. Relentless rains, snow, and icy winds created a quagmire of mud and made the fierce battle miserable.
By the end of 1943, Allied forces were bogged down at the Gustav Line, with German troops holding Northern Italy and Allied troops holding the southern part of the country. German forces had the advantage of holding the high ground, and they fortified it with land mines, big guns, and concealed artillery to create a solid defense. Allies needed to break through, and Cassino blocked the advance. Monte Cassino, an ancient Benedictine abbey, towered over the city. The Battle of Monte Cassino began in January 1944 and lasted four months with heavy casualties.
To break the stalemate at Cassino, General Clark sent seven divisions to flank the enemy with an amphibious landing at Anzio on January 22, 1944. The landings caught Germany by surprise, and they were forced to bring in reinforcements from their dwindling reserves. Fierce fighting at Anzio continued throughout the spring of 1944. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fifth Army and new reinforcements and equipment, including troops from Poland and France, were contending with German forces at Cassino. With help from the reinforcements, the Allies broke through the Gustav Line in May 1944.
On May 23, the troops at Anzio broke out of the beachhead and rendezvoused with the rest of the Allied army at Borgo Grappa. At the same time, military officials were in the final planning stages of the D-Day invasion at Normandy. The fighting in Italy had forced Germany to draw away resources which proved advantageous to the Allies along the Western Front.
Back in Italy, the Fifth Army was now just 30 miles outside of Rome. As troops advanced towards the city, they passed the wreckage of German tanks, guns, and equipment left behind as German forces fled.
On June 4, 1944, the Fifth Army entered Rome from the south. They were the first Allied forces to liberate a capital city from Fascist control on European soil. City residents greeted American soldiers with cheers and hugs as the troops paraded past historic landmarks, including the Colosseum and the Forum. The liberation of Rome marked a turning point in the Italian campaign, giving a morale boost and hope that a defeat of Germany was possible.
If you would like to learn more about the Liberation of Rome, search Fold3® today!
I don’t believe General Clark’s leadership was highly regarded by historians
My dad fought under him in the Fifth Army – he wasn’t a fan.
Nor by my father. He said Clark made them cannon fodder. Loathed the man.
Clark threw the 442 into the meat grinder
with little regard for the horrendous
casualties that resulted.
My Dad was in the 442nd (as a junior officer, not from Japanese background). He often commented at the amazing courage and commitment the Japanese-Americans showed under fire. Even more so given the circumstances of their families.
As I understand it, the real problem with their treatment came not from Gen Mark Clark in Italy but subsequently in France by Major General John Dahlquist. For example the entire 442nd was more than decimated in an all out rescue a smaller group of Dahlquist’s Texans (the “Lost Battalion”). The Caucasian officers were particularly vocal of his treatment of their unit and at ceremonies returned Dahlquist’s salute but refused to shake his hand. Dahlquist was subsequently criticized for an apparent casual fraternizing with the captured Hermann Goering.
I did not hear of inappropriate use of the 442nd while they were in Italy, although they were thought of as proven ‘shock troops’.
Not only did General Clark highly value the 442d RCT, he was the only high ranking commander who was glad to have the Nisei join his army. Until they had proved their value in battle, virtually no one else wanted them due to their anti-Japanese prejudices and Clark was above that (he was outspokenly against the Japanese internment camps too). The “meat grinder”, as you call it, was the nature of the fighting in Italy due to the geography and weather, and the only way to have avoided a prolonged, bloody fight was for the Allies to be content with knocking Italy out of the war and holding the Italian peninsula south of the Volturno River. Churchill would have none of it. Your comment that Clark had “little regard for the horrendous casualties” is a common sentiment that simply shows how little you actually know about him
sad story
My Uncle was one of those that Clark threw in that grinder. As I have read, the soldiers landed at Anzio & took the Germans by surprise. Instead of marching toward Rome immediately, the general had the troops rest which gave the Germans time to regroup. This then caused a high loss of life & the general earned a recall/ desk job. Newspaper articles verify this.
It wasn’t Clark who hesitated on the Anzio beachhead, it was his subordinate, Maj Gen John Lucas, commanding VI Corps. Clark relieved him, replacing him with Lucian Truscott.
Clark was not well-liked by his troops, and he didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about how many of them he got killed, but his biggest flaw was probably his flair for self-promotion that drove him to push for the liberation of (undefended) Rome instead of blocking the German retreat from Cassino. That cost time and lives, all to get Clark a headline in advance of the Normandy invasion.
General Clark was also responsible for the fiasco at the Rapido River. The men crossing in those canvas covered boats were sitting ducks for the German machine gun nests. My father-in-law survived. Those troops lucky enough to make it across then had to turn around and go back. He should have been courtmartialed.
Although Clark took the blame for the Rapido debacle, and has been vilified by many a newsman and historian (and reviled to this day by most Texans), Walker and McCreery are equally to blame for that disaster, if not more so. Afterward, because Clark was disinclined to outwardly blame the British or any of his subordinates for the outcome, Walker grasped at all manner of reasons to condemn Clark for what was essentially his own failure to adequately apprise and impress upon his commanding officer of the gravity of the 36th’s situation. His later claim that he “pleaded with Clark” has never been substantiated. Walker can also be faulted for his utterly defeatist attitude that began to set in two months before the battle – not a desirable trait for a Division commander. Clark could have sacked him but stoically (and gentlemanly) accepted the Rapido blame as any conscientious and true-hearted West-Pointer would have done. If Walker had served under Patton, he would undoubtedly have been relieved of command before Christmas. In point of fact, a congressional investigation and several internal inquiries cleared Clark of any incompetence or negligence of duty. Unfortunately, Clark was fighting the Italian campaign on two fronts and couldn’t give his full attention to either. For that he can be held accountable, although the landing at Anzio was all but dictated by Eisenhower and Churchill. Clark was pinched by a deadline that couldn’t be put off, and the British failure to uphold their part of the plan all but sealed the 36th’s fate. It has often been suggested that Clark’s relative silence in the matter is evidence of his culpability. I suggest instead that it’s just the opposite.
Was you father-in-law with the Company E, 36th Division at the Rapido River?
There is very little documented about the Italy campaign after D-day particularly the 8th army and the engineers on the East crossing rivers after we got command of the skies until VE day.
Not debating you W.G., but some questions seeking clarification or additional information.
You state very little documented about the 8th Army after D-Day.
There is little official documentation? Or not much has been written by military historians? If not much in the way of military documentation I would be surprised and wonder what happened to those documents. If little is written it is a shame as these men fought under the same conditions, maybe worse, than others. And they suffered casualties and loss of life as did all those elements who were in battle throughout the war.
Might little have been written because the bulk of the war was fought on the mainland of Europe and not Northern or Southern Europe?
Just because you are personally unaware of it does not mean the documentation doesn’t exist. Quite the opposite.
The model of an American general was set by U. S. Grant, who was quoted as saying that if he lost one soldier for every one the South lost, he would win the war. He was only successful as a general because he had the numbers and the munitions to back up his comment. My dad, who served in World War II, worked side by side after World War II with the United States Air Force military for 35 years, mostly as a civilian supervisor, at a major air force base in California and his only comment was this: “I wonder how we ever won a war.” It is clear from my reading histories of World War II and studying battles in some detail that numerous American generals did not care one whit about their men. Their only thought was the glory they would get in winning battles, no matter what the cost to casualties. My “favorite” ranking officer is Admiral Nimitz, the man who introduced Agent Orange into the Vietnam Conflict. It was a stupid move that probably has ended up killing more American personnel than died in Vietnam. It killed my cousin at the age of 72 years after affecting his life for many years before his death. It caused leukemia in my brother, but he survived the disease. One leading article on the subject has indicated that approximately 300,000 Americans have died from Agent Orange since the conflict. Admiral Nimitz was stupid and his name should go down in infamy. We do not need any military officer to thinks more about his career than the lives of his men.
Chester Nimitz retired from the Navy in 1947 and died in 1966. I think you have the wrong person by a generation.
“After a period of testing, on this day in 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave final approval to “Operation Ranch Hand” — a massive effort to defoliate the forests of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with an herbicide known as Agent Orange.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/18/us-launches-operation-ranch-hand-jan-18-1962-1102346
Quote: “It is clear from my reading histories of World War II and studying battles in some detail that numerous American generals did not care one whit about their men. Their only thought was the glory they would get in winning battles, no matter what the cost to casualties.”
Comment: Clark doesn’t belong under that banner, despite the loud claims of others, starting with newsman Eric Severeid who hated Clark and did his best to smear the General’s reputation by painting him as vainglorious.
I have terminal lung disease caused by agent Orange in Vietnam. I was given 3-5 years to live 4 years ago. A study conducted and published in 2021, by the Medical School at the University of California, San Francisco, found a direct link to Pulmonary Fibrosis in Vietnam Veterans exposed to agent orange.
My previous comment was posted before corrections were made. I apologized for that. Here is my corrected comment. The model of an American general was set by U. S. Grant, who was quoted as saying during the Civil War that if he lost one soldier for every one the South lost, he would win the war. He was only successful as a general because he had the numbers and the munitions to back up his comment. My dad, who served in World War II, worked side by side after World War II with the United States Air Force military for 35 years, mostly as a supervisor with the civilian rank equivalent to a Lt. Col., at a major air force base in California and his only comment about military officers was this: “I wonder how we ever won a war.” It is clear from my reading histories of World War II and studying battles in some detail in that war that numerous American generals did not care one whit about their men. Their only thought was the glory they would get in winning battles, no matter what the cost in casualties. My “favorite” ranking officer is Admiral Nimitz, the man who introduced Agent Orange into the Vietnam Conflict. It was a idiotic move that has ended up killing more American personnel than died in Vietnam. It killed my cousin at the age of 72 years after affecting his life for many years before his death. It caused leukemia in my brother, but he survived the disease. One leading article on the subject has indicated that approximately 300,000 Americans have died from Agent Orange since the conflict. Admiral Nimitz was imminently disregardful of the consequences of his action and his name should go down in infamy. We do not need any military officer who thinks more about his career than the lives of his men.
How was Nimitz connected to the Vietnam war? I believe he was retired from naval duty will be for the 60s.
Another example of Eisenhower’s poor choice of bottom half West Point buddies like Frendenhal, Hodges and even Bradley. All poor tacticians and lousy leadership. Mark Clark many stupid mistakes and was lead around General Kesslering.
I’m not sure that Lawman’s reference to Nimitz is correct. I don’t believe either Chester Sr. or Jr. served during the Vietnam era. If I’m wrong, apologies to Lawman.
You are right. Neither Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, 1885-1966, nor his son Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Jr. , 1915-2002, served in the Vietnam War. I was stationed on Guam during the end of the war. Rear Admiral George Stephen Morrison, 1919-2008, was in charge of Guam and the Marianas Islands at that time and was involved in the Viet Nam War.
Perhaps no two people embodied the moral complexities and the agony of Agent Orange more graphically than Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. and his son Elmo R. Zumwalt III. Admiral Zumwalt led American naval forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970, before he became chief of naval operations. He ordered the spraying of Agent Orange. The son was in Vietnam at about the same time as the father, commanding a Navy patrol boat. Years later, doctors found that he had lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease. He died in 1988 at 42. His son, Elmo IV, was born with congenital disorders. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/us/agent-oranges-long-legacy-for-vietnam-and-veterans.html
It is easy to “Monday morning QB” … we have all the facts, data and no uncertainties.
The enemy was highly trained and motivated until overwhelmed by sheer force of men, armaments and material.
Generals Bradley and Marshall were well thought of by the troops they commanded. I know Marshall was always concerned for the impact on the troops.
Lawman’s statement contains many factual errors. Nimitz never introduced Agent Orange into military use. He did authorize the use of Napalm in WW2 which was initially used at Peleliu by Navy and Marine close air support and later in the Phillipines. Napalm is a flammable gel used to destroy buildings, trees and dug in infantry.
In contrast, Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide that was intended to defoliate jungle and deprive the VC of food and cover. Admiral Zumwalt was instrumental in authorizing Agent Orange in VietNam….not Nimitz, who was long retired by the time it was even invented.
My father-in-law Claud Black was one of the soldiers that landed at the Anzio Beach in the second wave. They became part of the merger of that group and the eastern flank. It was a hard fight. He was wounded there. After he healed his group was sent to southern France to land again and fight along the Ryan river where he again was wounded in battle and eventually taken POW. His wife was only told he was missing in battle. For three months she endured before the war was over and her husband was freed and found to be alive to come home and get the medical treatment he needed.
My father was part of that advance. Ironically, he immigrated from Italy at the age of 10 because of his father’s dislike of Mussolini only to return 12 years later to banish his fascist ilk with his adopted country’s armed forces. Another example of how immigration makes our country stronger.
At 16 years of age, my Dad came to the US from Italy in ‘37. He grew up in Mussolini’s fascist regime. He was drafted in US Army in ‘43 and stationed in London and then France. He was an interpreter in Intelligence. During that time my grandmother and aunts and uncles were still in Italy while Germans overran the town, Pacentro, which was next to the Gustav line. Grandfather was in US.
Well stated, Tim. My dad, John Anthony Pontillo, also fought at Anzio. And that son of immigrants visited his parents’ birthplace, Basilicata, Italy, right after the victory at Anzio. There, the 19 year-old soldier was received as a long lost son and hero. When he departed, the impoverished hilltop village pulled together what little they had and gave him “pillowcases full of salami, cheese and bread” to bring back to his base and share with his fellow American heroes.
The fellow that side ADMIRAL Nimitz actually it was Admiral Zumwalt that ordered the agent orange and his sin actually died from agent orange as he was a patrol boat commander in Vietnam!!!
My favorite World War II commander was General James A. Van Fleet who not only served in that war but in the Korean Conflict also. My uncle Pat Parrish served as a junior grade and later field grade officer under him while being twice wounded. He spoke very highly of Van Fleet of being a soldier’s soldier.
Mark Clark was a poor General, promoted only because he was a West Pointer. Because of his “leadership” in the Rapido River fiasco, there is still an unserved warrant for his arrest in Texas.
— James B. Hays Col ret Texas Army National Guard
Ignorance is not a becoming trait for a Colonel.
My uncle was in the Texas 36th. He did make it back home despite General Clark.
One of Clark’s mistakes was to leave Lucas in command at Anzio after Lucas failed to drive to the high surrounding hills immediately after the Anzio landing. The Germans reacted immediately by moving in forces which surrounded Allied forces contained on the beach head which turned a successful landing into a four month bloodbath trying to dislodge the Germans. Once the Allies could finally break out of Anzio, however, Clark disobeyed orders to move east and to cut off Germans retreating from the south and instead turned Allies north to take Rome. Clark took Rome only for these personal glory he thought he’d earn, but meanwhile, Germans were able to slip around Rome and regroup on the the next defensive line north of Rome where more American lives were sacrificed facing the same German units all over again. The Italy campaign was probably the most skillfully managed campaign of WW2 for the Germans, but the most badly managed American campaign of WW2; for the Germans, it was skillful leadership; for the Americans, inept leadership.
Visit any of the several US WW2 cemeteries
in Italy to see the sad proof.
My Uncle was one of those who died because of Lucas’ decision not to immediately go forward. I have been trying to find someone who knew him & could tell me of his last days. I was born in Nov of that same year & never got to meet him. Supposedly, my grandparents did receive his body, but they weren’t certain
What about the First Special Service Force’s role in liberating Rome on June 4, 1944? They were a key element that day.
My dad fought under Mark Clark. He was in the Alps when on Oct 25, 1944 he sent my dad out as a forward observer along with a few others and his lieutenant. My dad was captured in the farm house in Bolonga, Italy. On Oct 26, 1944 General Clark called for the fighting to stop until a spring offensive could begin again. Dad wrote about his experiences in his diary.
My Dad, Major (1st Lt. at the time) Richard A. Bachhuber, was General Clark’s communications officer and held the general in great esteem. They traveled together quite often in Dad’s “radio jeep”. They were also together in the PT boat (outfitted with Dad’s radio equipment) that came under friendly fire as they approached Anzio Beach to meet with the troops. Two sailors were killed, and several others were wounded. As Dad recounted in his memoir, he and the general had to duck under the gunwale until their PT boat was able to turn about and get out of range. Dad received the Bronze Star for his service in the Anzio Beach theater.
The first two Division to enter Rome were the 85th and the 88th Infantry Divisions.
My dad was in the 88th Infantry Blue Devils in Italy and he told me about going into Rome.
My dad said when they got into Rome, they were allowed to camp the first night in the Vatican grounds.
My great aunt was a nurse who was among the first group of nurses to land at Anzio. She and other nurses are mentioned in one of Ernie Pyle’s books.
My uncle was in the Texas 36th which was the “lost battalion”. My grandmother had already received a telegram stating he was missing in action. I am so thankful for the Japanese Americans that rescued them. They had ran out of food and water. The Americans tried dropping supplies to them but it was off target and the Germans got it all. He lived to fight another day. He was a young kid straight out of school and went from Southern Italy all the way to Austria and yes, he crossed the Rapido River. Clark was an idiot! He had been advised against the crossing because of bad weather. They lost over 800 men in that crossing. The Germans were shooting at them from the opposite bank.
I wrote (above) about my Dad, a Caucasian, with the 442nd.
I appreciated all who wrote here but two of the posts moved me (below) and I thank the authors for that:
Tim Canale says:
“My father was part of that advance. Ironically, he immigrated from Italy at the age of 10 because of his father’s dislike of Mussolini only to return 12 years later to banish his fascist ilk with his adopted country’s armed forces. Another example of how immigration makes our country stronger.”
BLD761 says:
“My uncle was in the Texas 36th which was the “lost battalion”. My grandmother had already received a telegram stating he was missing in action. I am so thankful for the Japanese Americans that rescued them.”
Just curious. Why was Rome “liberated” as opposed to “captured” or “defeated” as was referred to other Axis powers cities?
Italy surrendered to the Allies in September ’43. Germany quickly occupied it replacing the Italian troops before the Allies could move north. Rome didn’t fall until June of ’44. So, by then the Allies were “liberating” the city from the Germans.
Did you try googling the differences?
Sir, that’s an excellent question. There was a genuine difference.
Prior to the “liberation” of Rome, US Army Major General Maxwell D Taylor, then CG of the 101st Airborne Division, was smuggled into German occupied Rome to negotiate with Italy’s Marshall Pietro Badoglio. Badoglio had established himself by leading Italy’s occupation of Ethiopa. MG Taylor wore full uniform, so he would not have been a spy if captured by the Germans. It was an astoundingly brave diplomatic effort to coordinate Italian troops standing down from conflict to weaken Axis opposition and minimize damage to Rome. Maxwell Taylor was fluent in Italian and another half dozen languages. He later parachuted into Normandy and commanded the 101st until the end of WW2.
There were some bumps in the road to Rome on this deal, because Badoglio was in a tight spot and had to be careful dealing with German occupiers, but he understood reality and focused on inevitable US occupation. In the end, it paid off and took the Italians out of the fight. Pietro Badoglio then replaced Mussolini as Prime Minister of Italy. Lets make a deal.
Maxwell Taylor was fluent in Italian and another half dozen languages. He later parachuted into Normandy on 6 June 1944, commanded the 101st until the end of WW2. In the 1960s, Maxwell Taylor was Chairman of The Joint Chiefs and Ambassador to France under JFK.
He was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs when I entered service in 1961.
So, I guess a country could go to war in 1940 as a member of the Axis powers, officially surrendering in October 1943 to the Allies, then switch sides by declaring war on Germany. So, Rome was deemed “liberated” merely by a political decision to switch sides.
Query as to how many Italian troops then fought against their former Axis comrades to “liberate” their country.
Message to Sandra J Hodge:
Sandra: as the niece of a deceased combat veteran, you can file to obtain military records including DD Form 214, personnel file, and medical records of your uncle by contacting the National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, 63138-1002. The website is http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records, or something close to that. Print the request form SF 180 from this National Archives’ website and mail it to the above address. Expect that response is slow, and unfortunately, many WW2 records were lost at this location in a 1973 file.
The only way I know to get any details of your uncle’s combat record is to locate unit action reports for his unit online. If you know the location or date of death, sometimes you can actually find records recording the death of the individual although not necessarily the specific combat details. The Fold3 website may be of help.
Relatives of deceased WW2 veterans were given one opportunity in 1947-1950 to repatriate to the US the remains of their loved ones. Some members of you family would have been involved with this if the remains were returned. For a Marine from my hometown, I was able to obtain from the Archives address above the complete chain of custody documents reporting the disinterment of the Marine from his combat grave in Okinawa to his reburial in my hometown cemetery. His gravestone containing his 1944 photograph in Marine uniform still remain there.
I thank your uncle for his sacrifice, and good luck as you try to honor his memory by learning more about him.
In 2015 I wrote a book for my four grandsons regarding the Bates family. In chapter eight, “Robert Bates- the Italian Campaign”, using the battalion’s “Combat Calendar-698th Field Artillery Battalion”, I trace the movement of this unit from their landing at Naples in February 1944 through October 1944, including the battles of Monte-Cassino, the liberation of Rome, and the other “slugfests” up the Italian boot until the 698th was transferred to Southern France for the remainder of WWII. The chapter gives an almost day by day account of the battalion’s involvement in the struggles and hardships in Italy to free Europe from the Third Reich. The book is titled simply, BATES, An Ancient Family Name. For those interested in day-to-day combat in WWII.
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This synopsis is very nice and accurate, I believe. To read a full account I cannot recommend highly enough the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson. Volume 2 is the “Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944.” Read more here, http://liberationtrilogy.com/books/day-of-battle/
My mother-in-law, a native of Roma, and my father-in-law, an Italian-American GI whose parents were born in Gaeta, Italy, were married on June 4, 1945, one year to the day after the liberation.
It is amazing to read all the stories of WWII. My Father in Law was stationed at Ft Riley KN before his Tank Battalion was ordered to Europe. I’ve been led to understand his tank battalion joined with two other under a well known General (Due to my age his name escapes me). In North Africa. My Father in Law won one Bronze Star with a ribbon cluster, one Purple Heart, with two ribbon clusters, and one European Campaign Medal. My Husband inherited the medals. He died before he could research what actions occurred for the medal awards. I started researching, unfortunately all his records were destroyed in the 1970’s fire. The records department suggested trying the VA, they too had no records. So we have no record of the awards being given other than his name on the back of the bronze medal. Like most WWII Veterans he was very closed mouth about WWII. He was a 30 year Army Veteran. I have seen one paper when I used Ancestry showing he may have also been in WWI. Reading those old records, to me, are difficult to understand.
I must say that all of the denigrations of the various Generals and even Admiral Nimitz are interesting, since none appear to be a first hand account, only accounts by relatives, etc! He who throw stones may end up with a landslide on their hands. Admiral Nimitz was very beloved by those who served under him. I was very upset over the person that wrote the untruthful story about him. I’m a Navy Widow and I’m still angry over that!
My uncle was a Captain in the Texas 36th at the Rapid River. He wrote home to his wife “…pray that I will be able to intelligently lead the men that have been entrusted to my leadership. I am deeply concerned about them and trust that my judgement will be good.” He died of his wounds. He was 26.
The day i was born…..
Find the book ” History of the Third Infantry Division in World War II” by Donald Gilbert Taggart and George C Marshall. It is a very detailed account of the Division from North Africa to Sicily to the landings at Salerno & Anzio and the fighting northwards. If your relative was in any unit during that campaign, you will appreciate the information.
If your relative was in the Third Division, you will find their name in the Appendix. That is how I verified my-father-in law, Louis Bonsignore in the 39th Field Artillery Battalion ( Light ). Like many combat veterans of WW II, he never discussed his time and no one knew his unit.
My Daddy was in the 34th. We learned a lot from him in the last 20 years of his life. He was 95 when he passed away. I wrote a comment at the end of this article about my Daddy’s time in Italy. He saw a lot of horrific and sad things, but he was a very strong man physically and mentally. My sisters and myself were so proud of him and so happy he finally told us a lot that he went through. My Mamma being Italian and very young when this war started had so many stories too, about her life before and sadly the last 10 yrs. after the war. She had come from a middle upper-class family. Her Daddy was a cinematographer for movie’s and toward the end of his career he made documentaries. They lived in Rome and the Germans took over their apt. when she was 16. Her Mamma was in the hospital for the last 2 yrs. of her life in Rome. Mamma went to Venice with another friend and that is how she eventually met my Daddy a Sgt. over the laundry for the soldiers. The British had it and then the Americans took over when the British left.
My father was in the 34th. They ended up in Venice where they stayed. He saw Mussolini and his mistress hanging from the pole dead. They crossed the Po Valley and the Po River on their way to Venice. At one point on their trek across Italy he was guarding a cave all the men were in and a German mortar hit close by and knocked him out. They put him on a stretcher when they were leaving and was not conscious for a while. He met my mother in Venice where he took over for the British that had the laundry there. She had lied about her age to work there. She was 16 and was supposed to be 18. When they married was when she had turned 18 (5 months before, July 4, 1946.)
https://www.goticatoscana.eu/en/the-trail-of-the-34th-infantry-division-in-wwii-34th-inf-div/
My Uncle gave his life there on October 20,1943 and was buried in Sicily-Rome American Cemetery