Okay, now that I have the hang of it here is some more of my find.

Here is some Engineer Humor Circa 1943. I hope it is readable.

I will attach another bit. Although this is post WWII an interesting thing occured while Dad was stationed with the Engineer Det at USMA, a low boy trailer from his old unit (175th Eng) showed up in the motor pool as a replacement piece of equipment. I remember a photo of him pointing at the bumper number with a smile on his face.

Cool. Thanks for posting those. I'm interested in the Montecatini R&R passes. I have one of the Army Rest Center in Rome but not for Montecatini.

Wonder where that theater was that was showing "This is the Army"? Anything on the back of it? Address?

Also was curious about the Appollo Theater pass. It is cut off at the bottom. Is that in New York? At first, I read "5th Army" and thought Italy but that is different from "5th Army Special Service".

I was a member of the Society of American Military Engineers while in college and a few years after. They published a monthly magazine. One issue had great detail of the Army's recovery of the Florida Airlines passenger jet that hit the bridge and crashed into the Potamac a dozen years ago. I may still have that issue.

Steve

Mark. Just fantastic. How I enjoyed looking at the scanned items. The News Bulletin was "grinsville"! That is one of those rare war documents that is worth a million in my book!

We are grateful for the time you spend doing this. Keep up the great work. You have an admiring fan here. I know how much time and effort it takes to produce all this for our web readers.

Glad someone else can get some enjoyment out of these things. After closer examination of the ticket to the "This is the Army" ticket, It says Military Theater-Santa Maria. Not sure where that was (will have to do some research). I am just learning how to use this scanner (got it last weekend) so I re scanned the Apollo Theater ticket. It says 5th Army Special Service and THe american Theatre WIng present Katharine Cornell and Brian Aherne in The Barretts of Wimpole Street.

Oct. 1400 Hours. Although it appears cut off when you scan it in reality it is not. I think one edge is a bit worn from spending 62 years in this bill fold (which appears to be a local one he picked up in North Africa. As I dig more I will share what I find. Unfortunately I do not have all the photos my dad took but will try to recover them from my brother. I do remember there were quite a few of building bridges (good ole Army Engineering) and such.

Interesting, I just love finding stuff like this.

Thanks for sharing.

Brooke

Mark,

Okay, I pulled out some of my papers on the 5th Army Rest Center. The brochure for it has this printed at the bottom: Special Service Hq. 5th Army. The intro paragraph states:

Welcome to the Fifth Army Rest Center! To help you become acquainted with the varied activities at the camp and thereby enjoy your stay to the fullest, the 21st Special Service Company, under the direction of the Fifth Army Special Service Officer, has published this guide. Use it and enjoy yourself.

So I was wrong. The 5th Army Special Service was part of the 5th Army. You just never know about these things.

Now, regarding the Military Theater-Santa Maria. It seems like the name of a theater set up for the soldiers. This could be at the 5th Army Rest Center. The same brochure lists the following:

3. Entertainment--- In the north wing of the Recreation Building are two theaters, a large one on the first floor, and a small one in the basement. Movies, U.S.O. shows, G.I. shows, concerts, and events of special interest will be held in these theaters daily. Movies are scheduled at 1400, 1800, and 2000 hours regularly. Shows, concerts, etc., will be announced as they are scheduled.

I also have a booklet entitled "A Soldier's Guide to Naples" and it lists 8 theaters in the city. All of them have Italian names, except one which is labeled the Red Cross Theater. Naples remained a poplar place for soldiers to visit. I thought the Santa Maria theater might be there.

The name Santa Maria is a religious name. I find it kind of odd to name a secular theater after a saint. Names like this are quite common in Italy, so there could be dozen towns with variations of the name. For example, Santa Maria Infante was a town just north of Minturno, that was site of fighting along the Cassino front in May 1944.

I also have 2 pages of the June 6, 1944 Stars and Stripes that describe Rome and its sites. It doesn't mention any theaters.

I'm really interested in the 5th Army Rest Center at Foro Mussolini and the Montecatini rest center near Florence. I hope to put together enough history to make a webpage about it.

I'll keep looking. Maybe it is referenced in one of my books of a Veteran's story.

Steve

Quote from the Operational Report of 328FA.

On Thursday, 23 November 1944, Charlie Battery went to the new Fifth Army Rest Center at Montecatini to enjoy a well earned rest. They returned to the Battalion bivouac area on the 28th. On the same day Baker Battery left for Montecatini, followed by Able, Service and Headquarters on the 29th. The new style Rest Center was a famous "Spa", patronized by wealthy Italians and tourists before the war. The men were quartered in hotels, and except for a hike each morning, and two hours of section training each afternoon, they had free run of the town from three in the afternoon until ten o'clock at night. There were bars, movies, USO shows, and baths - both of the G.I. and civilian variety, and the Battalion made the most of its opportunities. The end of November found the 328th still in the rest areas, and enjoying a very high morale.

Steve;

Good info! Way ahead of me on this topic.

Mark,

The little things help tell the whole story. If you have read "The Man Who Never Was", it describes the scheme to decieve the Germans about the upcoming invasion of Sicily. They use ticket stubs and such paper documents to make their cover story look convincing.

Here is some info about The Barretts of Wimpole Street . This was probably being performed as a play. However it was released as a movie in 1934 and the cast included Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan. The movie was nominated for 2 Oscars. Norma Shearer won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. It would be possible that the theater was showing the movie but I don't think so. From another diary I have, it is evident that the soldiers got to see some of the latest Hollywood releases and this movie would be out of date for them.

The Movie: "The Barretts of Wimpole Street "

The play by Rudolf Besier was arranged in two parts and twenty-three scenes by Katharine Cornell. It opened at the Empire Theatre, New York City, February 9, 1931. Following the 370 performance run, Katherine Cornell took the show on a seven-month U.S. tour. Produced by Katherine Cornell, staged by Guthrie McClintic. Basil Rathbone was not part of the Broadway production, but joined the cast for the tour, which began in October, 1933.

The play takes place in the Barrett home on Wimpole Street, London. It is the story of the epic love of Elizabeth and Robert Browning. The interesting part is that they couple elopes together to Italy.

It was televised in 1956 starring "The First Lady of the American Theatre" in her television debut, Katharine Cornell.

Steve

"The Man Who Never Was"! What a great story, and lesson in attention to detail. You are so right about the details. I am amazed that my dad kept all of this. After VE day, my dad was in charge of disposing of captured "Iti and kraut" (his words) gear. I asked him why he never brought any home and he said he never thought he would have a couple of boys who would be interested in that stuff. Well this stuff is vastly more interesting to me than a helmet or weapon.

My nephew is a WWII Engineer re enactor and I have tried to explain that Soldiers were not all "cookie cut" from the same dough. That every Soldier (then and now) did and does things to his "kit" that makes it his own. Only in training was I ever held to "GI" standard on my web gear as far as what I carried (issued 2 ammo pouches? 3 must be better!). So he should build his character with personal details in mind. Now that I have said that maybe I can reproduce some of these things I have found in his granddads wallet and he can add it to his "kit".

This discussion was quite timely. I recieved an email from someone who was interested in one of the theaters. I'm not sure if he was in Italy during or after the war. But here is what he wrote (I removed his name for now). Please excuse the ALL CAPS.

HI:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR FINE WEBPAGE.

 

I WAS IN NAPLES FOR A SHORT AND MINIMALLY INVOLVED IN A MULTINATIONAL PROJECT TO REMORALIZE THIS SEVERELY DESTROYED CITY.

 

THE LOCALS WERE TOTALLY DEPRESSED, HUNGRY AND SEEMINGLY HOPELESS.

 

A BUNCH OF THE VARIOUS ALLIED UNITS DECIDED TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING TO LIFT THE SPIRIT OF THE LOCAL POPULATION FROM THE BOMBED OUT BUILDINGS AND RUBBLE.

 

THE AD HOC GROUP INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT DECIDED TO REOPEN THE OPERA HOUSE.  (THEATRO DI SAN CARLO)

 

THE AUDITIONS ALL OVER TOWN LITERALLY BLANKED OUT THE RUBBLE AND THE OPENING WAS A GREAT SUCCESS. THIS WAS FOR ME ONE OF THE MOST UPLIFTING EXPERIENCES OF MY MILITARY SERVICE.

 

UNFORTUNATELY MY MEMORY IS VAGUE AND I HAVE TRIED TO FIND A HISTORIAN, WHO MAY FILL IN THE DETAILS.  SO FAR NO LUCK I STRUCK OUT EVEN AT THE US CONSULATE IN NAPLES OR AT THE THEATER ITSELF.  NO ONE (K)NEW ANYTHING OR WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THIS STORY.

 

PERHAPS YOU COULD POINT ME IN A FRUITFUL DIRECTION OR GIVE ME SOME REFERENCE BOOK TITLES.

I WAS IN THE US ARMY SIGNAL CORPS.

THANK YOU AND BEST REGARDS

The San Carlos Theater was located in Naples. The original dated back many years and was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1861, I believe.

Steve

Isn't it amazing what can take place in war? Wish we could give this guy a few more answers. Who knows what we will find.