Veterans Day - November 11 (Part 1)
Most of you are fully aware of what Veterans Day means to you. You probably do not know that Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states.
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However, this newsletter issue aims to tell you how much the children of my dad’s 85th Infantry Division (of the Fifth Army) soldiers have thanked and remembered the Italian hosts, hostesses, and guides for preserving the history of our fathers’ WWII route from Minturno, Italy on May 11, 1944 at 11:00 pm to Belluno, Italy on May 3, 1945.
Conversely, these Italians and their families and friends returned to thank us in person for our fathers’ sacrifices for them.
Creator Andrea Brini
Our first thanks go to Andrea Brini of Bologna, Italy, for creating the private Facebook page, “85th Infantry Division Custer,” on February 27, 2012, because he wanted to reach these children in the USA. His private group has grown to 598 members, so we have exchanged stories and pictures among the children to preserve our men's WWII history.
Alessandro Campagna and Giacinto Mastrogiovanni
Thanks to these two guides for explaining our father’s first battles from Hill 66 near Minturno on May 11, 1944, at 11 pm to Terracina on May 26. 1944.
Mario Mirco Mendico and Giuseppe Mallozzi
Thanks to these two young WWII historians for touring Minuturno and Tremensuoli and taking us to Garigliano Bridge, where my dad wrote the emotional poem and Linea Gustav Fronte Garigliano (Gustav Line Museum.)
Paola Saviola
Special thanks to Paola for being a tireless guide for the all-day tour. Note: her Gustav Line Museum was inaugurated on May 12, 2019, on the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation.
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