[Taltarzac725]

US troops moving towards Velletri, Italy on 29 May 1944 | The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories

US soldier guards Appian Way outside of Velletri, Italy on 29 May 1944 | The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories

Velletri, Italy engagements May to June 1944.

Recently on Facebook one of my cousins mentioned that they had found a notification of the award of a Silver Star to my Uncle who had lost a leg, arm and part of his skull in WWII. No one knew about this Silver Star as he had not mentioned it to any of his relatives.

A humble man and a local hero in one of the suburbs of Chicago.

I had taken care of him in the Fall of 1994 before his space opened up in the nursing home down the street from his house. He had talked about the war a little bit when he had has wide wake nightmares of a sort. He would see his squad members from WWII in front of him.

Other times he would pull our collective legs about naked Indians around. It was hard to tell if he was having some fun with us.



The battle around Rome which Velletri is near was quite a fierce one from my recent readings about it.

Here is to the Veterans who have served us so well in various wars like my Uncle William.

[Taltarzac725]

World War II Divisional Combat Chronicles

A little more information about WWII in Italy.

The Division was then switched to the Anzio beachhead, first elements landing 24 January 1944, where they repulsed heavy counterattacks and maintained defensive positions for 4 months, building up for the final break-through 23 May 1944. The Division drove through and north of Rome, .moving 200 miles in 5 days. It continued to fight its way northward through successive defensive and offensive actions, crossed the Arno 1 September 1944 and engaged in the slow, bitter advance through the Apennines. The Divi-

573

sion broke through into the Po Valley in April 1945, took Milan 30 April, and was driving north to Cigliano when German forces in Italy capitulated 2 May 1945.

[Tom C]

You should be VERY PROUD.

The solders of our past wars gave so very much and asked for so little. We all need to remember them in thought and prayer. Theirs was a time that is very different in many ways, but in some other ways the same.

Thank you for sharing that info and reminding us all how lucky we are to live freely in our great nation.

[simpkinp]

Congratulations and thanks for his service

[Velvet]

Yes! You should be very proud. What a wonderful story. Sometimes we take so much for granted and it is nice to be reminded what price was paid and we should never forget.

[Schaumburger]

Yes, you should feel pride for your uncle. So many WWII vets have passed on. I had 4 uncles who served in WWII, and they are all gone now. Everyday hundreds of WWII vets pass, and within 5 years there will be very few left.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Yes! You should be very proud. What a wonderful story. Sometimes we take so much for granted and it is nice to be reminded what price was paid and we should never forget.

Very true. If not for the brave men and women in WWII we probably would have become overrun by the Nazis and their allies.

William fought with his men in Italy. Sneaked up on a house full of Nazis while under machine gun fire. Throwing a grenade through a window and then he and his six men captured 31 prisoners whose comrades in arms were very much interested in taking back. The fight went on for a long time. Not sure how long and how everything happened. The letter from the Brigadier General describing the action is very confusing so I am not sure what really went on. And Bill never talked about it that other relatives remember and his wife passed.

The letter mentions Massa Marittima and Massa Marittima - Wikipedia and Velletri. These are not that close to one another.

Velletri - Wikipedia

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

World War II Divisional Combat Chronicles

A little more information about WWII in Italy.

From this Divisional Combat description I do not see William being in Tuscany?

U.S. Army Center of Military History

ROME-ARNO 1944

https://history.army.mil/brochures/romar/map4.JPG

[mamamia54]

My dad was also in WWII. We knew he was shot down and left to die but for the grace of the other soldiers around him. He spent over a year in a German hospital. He received a Purple Heart. He never really spoke about the war. The few times he did, he would start to cry. He died at 94 in 2017. I was in contact with the Veterans Association for his headstone as he is buried in a VA cemetery. It was until that time that we found out my dad received TWELVE medals including a Bronze Star, Oak Leaf Cluster and many more. The men of that generation were very humble. They did what they felt was their duty to the country they loved. God bless them and all veterans who continue to so bravely protect us and this country. God bless America!

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by mamamia54

My dad was also in WWII. We knew he was shot down and left to die but for the grace of the other soldiers around him. He spent over a year in a German hospital. He received a Purple Heart. He never really spoke about the war. The few times he did, he would start to cry. He died at 94 in 2017. I was in contact with the Veterans Association for his headstone as he is buried in a VA cemetery. It was until that time that we found out my dad received TWELVE medals including a Bronze Star, Oak Leaf Cluster and many more. The men of that generation were very humble. They did what they felt was their duty to the country they loved. God bless them and all veterans who continue to so bravely protect us and this country. God bless America!

Very cool information about your father.

I volunteered at the Veterans' Hospital in Reno, Nevada for a year of Saturday afternoons in 1977-1978 and the veterans I encountered rarely spoke about their war experiences. There were men from the Spanish American War through Vietnam.