This is from Colin. I apologize for not uploading these sooner. ![]()
Marion,
After some consideration I have decide to send the photos to you to decide how you want to use them. You will see what each refers to as I have taken close-ups of the citations.
No1: The plinth memorial to the US Third Infantry is sited in a park in Licata.
No2. The pyramid is an Italian/US memorial sited near Castelluccio.
No3. The large wall plaque is at the site of the battle of Ponte Drillo (Drillo Bridge) near Gela.
No4. This is a memorial to the crew of a C47 that crashed at this site and raised by the owner of what is now a five star hotel. A part of the aircraft sit atop the memorial.
Colin.
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
My research on the island of Sicily in May this year was to locate and photograph the four private memorials to the involvement of US forces in Operation Husky. This was the campaign to capture Sicily from the Axis (The return to Europe in WW2)
This I succeeded to do with the help of Enzo a Sicillian taxi driver who I hired for a day and some Euros.
I am indebted to two other people:
Firstly Carole V Simpson, the office manager in the American Battle Monuments Commission Rome office.
Secondly the manager and staff of the Eremo della Giubiliana near Ragusa for helping me locate the C47 memorial.
If anyone is interested in the above photos please leave me a PM or email me.
Colin.
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Colin:
Thank you for taking the time to share these with us. It's always wonderful hearing from you and seeing your latest photos and hearing your stories behind your travels to Sicily.
Since many and most of us cannot go there (at least at present for me), it's so nice being able to view the memorials to our great vets who served in the Sicilian campaign. ![]()
Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter 'Monday' Poniedzialek
540th Combat Engineer - H&S Company
I would just add my thanks to M's, and to say that looking at these memorials means so much more to me now than it did when I was younger... I read every single name that I can make out and think about the men they belonged to... that were never able to know the love of a grandchild, or even a child in most cases. All of them having hopes and dreams like everyone else. We can never truly honor their sacrifice enough. God Bless them All...
Jim
Dogdaddy 1
These pictures of memorials are very nice and iit sure diid bring back some
memories. This is a little info from one that was there.
The 34th I.D. hit Italy Sept. 22 1943 and didn't stop till April 29, 1945 when
we arrived in Brescia, Italy. There we awaited the surrender of the German
5th Mountain Divn. and the German 34th. I.D. There a German Field Marshall
showed up and surrendered his troops.
That day we,(135th Inf.Reg.) called it the, ( TWILIGHT OF HELL), FOR THE
NEXT DAY WAS THE DAWNING OF PEACE. I don,t think there is a memoral
there. A total of 20 months combat in Italy. Roque Riojas. 1st. Bn. 135th nf. Regt.
Roque J.(Rocky) Riojas










