Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day for remembering those who died while fighting for our freedom.

This is a photo of my Dad's brother Arthur before he went in the service.

Arthur was in the Army.

His grave  at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.

Arthur Edwin was born November 6, 1920. He died May 20, 1944 during the invasion of Italy.

I have a file upstairs, knowing that he was in the 340th Infantry the 88 Division I researched troop movements until I gave up on that project.  I always hoped for more information.  It was rumored that my Aunt Marie had all the letters that he wrote...but  they were never found.  ( I think he was wounded and spent some time in a hospital someplace before he died...just from the battles that were fought and the dates they were fought. )  Perhaps someday I will have more time to research some more.

Arthur would have been just 23 years old when he died.  Some family records have him born on November 5, 1920 but his Birth Record says November 6, 1920.
Far Side

From my brother:
The 351st faced heavy fire on 18 May 1944 in its attempt to take Monte Grande, while the 349th and 350th advanced from Roccasecca to the Amaseno Valley, which they cleared on 28 May. After breaking out of the mountains, the 88th Division was thrust right back into combat. They were headed towards the Eternal City.

During Operation Diadem on 11 May 1944, the 349th Infantry attacked Mt. Bracchi, Mt. Cerri, Mt. La Civita, and the town of Spigno Saturnia after a tremendous artillery barrage. By the morning of 15 May, they had accomplished these objectives against strong enemy resistance, and managed to capture numerous enemy prisoners and even a German Panzer. The regiment was attached to the 85th Infantry Division for its attack on Hill 490 on the night of the 15th, and again encountered stiff resistance, but took the hill.^[6]

• First Entered combat: Advance party on night of 3–4 January 1944 in support of Monte Cassino attacks.^[4]
• First Organization Committed to Line: 2nd Battalion, 351st Infantry Regiment plus attachments^[5]
• First combat fatality: 3 January 1944
• Began post war POW Command: 7 June 1945. Responsible for guarding and later repatriating 324,462 German POWs.^[6]

The 88th Infantry Division was one of the first all-draftee divisions of the United States Army to enter the war. Ordered into active military service at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, the division, commanded by Major General John E. Sloan, arrived at Casablanca, French Morocco on 15 December 1943, and moved to Magenta, Algeria, on the 28 December for intensive training. Destined to spend the war fighting on the Italian Front, the 88th Division arrived at Naples, Italy on 6 February 1944, and concentrated around Piedimonte d'Alife for combat training. An advance element went into the line before Monte Cassinoon 27 February, and the entire division relieved the battered British 46th Infantry Division along the Garigliano River in the Minturno area on 5 March. A period of defensive patrols and training followed. The 88th formed part of Major General Geoffrey Keyes' II Corps, part of the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark.

After being inspected by the Fifth Army commander on 5 May, the 88th Division, six days later, drove north to take Spigno, Mount Civita, Itri, Fondi, and Roccagorga, reached Anzio, 29 May, and pursued the enemy into Rome, being the first unit of the Fifth Army into the city on 4 June, two days before the Normandy landings, after a stiff engagement on the outskirts of the city. An element of the 88th is credited with being first to enter the Eternal City. After continuing across the Tiber to Bassanelio the 88th retired for rest and training, 11 June.