My sister and I, with our husbands, arrived in Sicily and immediately noticed the rugged ancient hilly environment. On the hillside, there were abandoned houses that looked to be about 1000 years old – literally. We drove from Catania airport to our base at the Hilton Resort in Giardini Naxos near Taormina, the eastern side of the Italian island. Our hotel view was of the Sicilian beach, but we immediately went to the other side of the hotel to view Mt. Etna. As my sister said, “Dad only said about seven words about his experience in WWII, and two of those words were Mt. Etna.” We were now looking at what Dad saw when he arrived the beginning of August in 1943. We were to meet our guide the next morning to have him accompany us to the region where Dad fought, to see the terrain, if not the spot where Dad fought and was injured for the first of three times in the war.
Starting at 11am, August 2nd, the regiment moved by motors to an assembly area approximately 7 miles east of Nicosia, Sicily. The equipment arrived August 3rd and the Regiment got ready for combat. After the officers reported to headquarters, they were told that they were supposed to be on Mt. Pelato by late August 5th or early August 6th. And their movement was supposed to be “with utmost secrecy” so the Germans would be taken by surprise. They would move along the ridge line to the east and take the ground in the area of Mt Camalato. This would prevent the Germans from using the road between Cesaro and San Fratello, a major north-south passage. Afterwards, they were to take the town of Cesaro with the 47th Infantry who was coming from Troina to Cesaro. To keep it secret, the movement of the troops would be at night. So during the night of August 3rd, the 2ndBattalion moved to an area southeast of Capizzi., had four hours rest and then moved to north of Capizzi. A German detached patrol, estimated as a patrol, with pack mules was surprised when the leading element reached Mt Camelato. They fled, leaving their equipment, arms, and animals.
On the night of August 5th, the 2ndBattalion moved from their position following in the footsteps of the 1stBattalion. They arrived northeast of Capizzi just after daylight on the morning of the 6th after a very difficult night march over very rough terrain. Dad was in Company E and was lead by Stephen Sprindis (who would later make a name for himself in Normandy). The 4th Tabor Goums (French Moroccans) were attached to the Regiment and were directed to move to Piazza Tredicno with the mission of getting reconnaissance to the north and east of the regiment as it advanced. Also late on the 5th, Anti-tank equipment moved into the area north of Capizzi. It was too difficult to get most of the equipment into the area so they reorganized into a “Pack Howitzer Company”. They used mules from area towns to bring in what equipment they could.
The morning of the 7th of August at 05:30, they were directed to seize Mt. Camelato and then join the 47th Infantry and capture Cesaro – an area where Germans were concentrated as they fled the American troops. As movement began, there was contact with the enemy and there were heavy concentrations of mortar and artillery fire. To the rear of the 2ndBattalion, there was an ambush by an enemy patrol estimated in number at approximately 30 men. The IV Tabor Goums returned to the area with 3 German prisoners. They found a considerable number of enemy on the forward slope. An artillery concentration was put in place and as soon as the artillery occupied its new position, the enemy was attacking. The enemy had excellent observation from the high ground to the northeast. At 10:00 the 2nd Battalion was ambushed by a strong German patrol and caused 5 casualties. 
Dad was one of the wounded from this day. He was hit in the leg and received a Purple Heart for his bravery. He was taken via ship to a hospital in England where he remained for 2 months to recover. Dad’s brother Harold visited him in the hospital and then sent Dad’s Purple Heart and the shrapnel from his leg to their parents to keep. Dad was returned to duty after he recovered. Another brother Frank also served in Sicily but managed to come out of that battle without injury.
The Germans were on the run and a week later on August 14th, the American troops reached Floresta, Sicily. Germans blew two bridges on their way out as well as mined and cratered the main road. The Germans had reached Messina on the coast to leave Sicily altogether. Some Italian soldiers left in towns surrendered without offering any opposition. This closed the Sicilian campaign as Mussolini surrendered and Germany lost Sicily.
Our Experience Following Dad’s Steps
Marcello, a native Sicilian, met us in our hotel lobby at 09:00 and we started by showing him the combat maps that we had of Dad’s Battalion during the weeks of August 1 – 8th, 1943. Marcello was an archaeologist by trade but worked as a tour guide to supplement his income. He had some knowledge of Operation Husky and knew the area very well.
We asked him to start our tour in Capizzi, since that would be the closest town to where Dad fought. He immediately declined to take us there. He essentially said that we would not be received well in the area for several reasons. First off, he said that by the time the battle took place, the Germans had already left Sicily for the most part. They left a few patrols to move around and shoot to make it look like there were many Germans left on the island. Secondly, Patton wanted glory so he came in and bombed the area (after the Germans had left) so that he would look good. The citizens in Troina and Capizzi met the US military with white flags out. Many Sicilian citizens told the soldiers and commanders that the Germans were gone – there was no need to bomb. Finally, Patton brought in mercenary soldiers called Tabor Goums (who were French Moroccans) according to Marcello. These soldiers went into Capizzi and ravaged the town, by murdering and beheading citizens, stealing and violating women and children. Most people in Capizzi were still affected by WWII and he would not take us there. He also said it was a rugged part of the country infested with wild boars and was only reachable by foot using an abandoned rail road to get there. Besides, we would not have the vantage point to see the battleground from there.Our hopes were dashed – we would not be walking on the ground where Dad was injured as we did in France.
Marcello suggested that we go to Troina instead, a city that had a vantage point of the battlefield. Troina was settled in the 7thcentury BC by the Greeks and there have been Roman baths discovered from the 4thcentury BC. This town was conquered by the Normans in 1061, led by Count Roger and he established his residence in Troina, founded the monastery of San Basilio and the first Norman diocese in Sicily. (Marcello thought it was ironic that our Dad also served in Normandy, right after he served in a town settled by the Normans).
We stopped about 30 minutes prior to reaching Troina to stop to take in the beauty of the area. The impact of the terrain was ominous as we thought of our Dad fighting near here. There were mountain villages that were built in the first few centuries and at the top of the mountains were caves and tunnels that were still in use. We shot some photos and climbed back in the car to visit Troina. Marcello mentioned that he would try to find older citizens in the area so that we could talk to them about what they remember and what it was like for them.
As we pulled into the city, we temporarily parked at a gas station and Marcello went across the street to the jeweler to inquire who might have knowledge of the war. I found a poster showing the citizens of Troina welcoming the US soldiers in 1943. Within a few minutes he came out and told us that he called the town historian Basilio Arona who immediately closed the doors to his shop and would arrive in minutes to show us around. He assured us that Sicilian people were always helpful and he knew that the whole town would help us find the information we wanted. Basilio arrived and we found that he knew no English so Marcello served as translator for our many questions. Basilio told us to get in our car and follow him to the base of the older part of town and we would take the bus up the mountain to view the hills northeast of Troina where the fighting took place. We parked our car by an 11 th century St. Augustin church and jumped on the city bus which took us to the top of the town. 
From this point, we could see the entire landscape of the Nebrodi National Park that served as the battleground during the war. Basilio inquired which unit our Dad was with and then proceeded to point out where the Germans were pocketed and how the battle progressed by day. By the recently-constructed dam was the area where 30 Germans were pocketed and shot freely at the US troops for 2 1/2 days while the rest of the German troops abandoned the area towards Cesaro. The Germans used tunnels to store their weapons near Cerami, southwest of where we stood, and where more Germans were located. A bigger battle occurred there with hand to hand bayonet fighting involving US troops and Germans. Basilio pointed out Mt. Pelato and we recognized this name as the peak where Dad was wounded August 7th. Mt Pelato is in the hills to the right of the dam – the bald peak near the horizon mid-picture. That day, Mt Pelato was shadowed by a puffy cloud that stayed overhead, making it easy to identify which hill it was. We asked if they know how the injured were evacuated and they supposed they were taken out by their fellow soldiers or by mule over the top of the ridge to the port in Messina, though they could have been taken back to Nicosia to a bivouac area with road access to Palermo and waiting ships.
We followed Basilio through a neighborhood, into a building, and up some stairs to a museum that was being constructed. One room had costumes from medieval times. Another room had about 15 photos and newspaper articles from the 1940s and WWII maps of the Sicilian Campaign. We were able to stay for a few more minutes before the museum closed for siesta hours. Basilio promised to send us copies of the photo set by Robert Capa.We walked back down the street to the base of the city to our car. As we walked along, Basilio told us about various buildings along our walk. One wall remained from the 12th century. The Augustine church near our car had workers inside restoring the building. Basilio bought us a coffee and wouldn’t let us pay him for his time. As Marcello translated, Basilio said it was his honor to spend the day with us. It made his day to give us the story of our father.
Right before we got to our car, I saw another poster made from photos of Robert Capa from the battle during World War II. It has a city wall that was damaged by bombing and from there a viewpoint of the 11th century Augustine church at the base of the town, where we parked our car. The city wall was damaged in this photo, but then restored after the war and that is where we stood with Marcello and Basilio to discuss where our father fought. Seventy-two years have passed between Dad being here and our visit. Though he never talked about it, I felt a closeness to our father, who was 21 when he fought in this region. My dad was a hero, several times over. He carried those horrible memories privately to his death. I marvel at what it took to face the enemy and come out a hero. To mourn is respectful, to remember is holy.
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Paul and I picked up my sister Jane and her husband Bill at the ferry in Calais and then drove to Bayeux France, our base for our Normandy explorations of the battlefields and beaches. We had stopped for lunch in the delightful town Honfleur that was near the sea. A chapel was performing wedding every 30 minutes and there were several brides that rainy day. There were boats by the sea, a town carousel, and an organ grinder to boot. We drove on to our hotel Hotel D’Argouges, which was a very old building in the middle of Bayeux. It would be our staging ground for a few days to explore Dad’s haunts.
Francois, our guide, explained the role of the paratroopers in securing the area before the infantry approached the area just south of the coast. Two tanks were used, first a bazooka to clear the enemy and push them further back and then a second tank to keep them from advancing to the US position.
Bois Du Hommet
My Dad was in Company E of the 2nd Battalion in the 9th Infantry Division of the Army. Here are details of the first battle after arriving in Normandy France. What courage and valor which resulted in a Presidential Unit Citation and being very successful in Normandy.
On June 6th, the Liberty transport ships were loaded and Dad proceeded to the staging area at South Hampton England and was told he was headed to Utah Beach, which was less brutal terrain than Omaha Beach. Because his unit had military experience, they were chosen to go onto the beach days after the initial attack. Eisenhower had decided to expand the invasion of Normandy to include five landing places, three of them to be taken by the British and the rest to be taken by the Americans. Utah beach in the St. Mere Eglise area was named an American name specifically for invasion planning. It was chosen because of the mess that had occurred at Omaha beach and because the approach was flatter to come ashore. He was supposed to be on the second day of D-Day, but storms delayed the departure by one day and the officers decided to take an additional day to better prepare the equipment for the sea voyage (wax epoxy was placed on the electrical wiring and snorkel extensions were put over the carburetor air intakes). They sailed from Dorchester, England on June 9th, 1944, taking two days to cross the English Channel at the furthest distance from Dorchester.
The Battalion marched through one of few causeways inland and then through a marshy area seven miles to Sebeville, France. There were a few casualties along the way: German soldiers, American paratroopers that had previously stormed the area to clear out the enemy and even a few French citizens. The hedgerows in the area were a problem to start. These thickly hatched bushes from 4 feet to 10 feet tall in rows along the road to demarcate farmer’s fields allowed the enemy to hide in the area and prevented the troops from marching straight over the marshes to their objective. The tanks were also not able to follow the path of the troops due to the obstacles of the hedgerows. A real breakthrough came when a tank sergeant improvised a large cutting blade to attach to the front of the tank to plow over the hedgerow, much like a snowplow. The troops dug trenches and settled in to enjoy their K rations, which came in a box about the size of cigarette cartons and was coated to keep it waterproof. In it were tins of Spam, cheese, powdered coffee, sugar, and a fruit bar. Hard chocolate was sometimes available but often they were so hard they were inedible. The regiment remained in bivouac at this location until June 13th preparing for their first attack to commence on June 14th. This battle would be the regiment’s first since the Sicilian campaign in August 1943, 10 months earlier.
My husband I started our journey into the WWII past in Ieper Belgium. My father was not ever in this town that we know, though he did get R&R in Antwerp after the war and likely was in Brussels transporting trucks after the war was over. Our daughter’s fiancé’s parents live in this quaint town in northwestern Belgium and we decided to visit them to start our trip. We thought it would be mostly a social visit with our daughter’s future in-laws – and it certainly was a great visit. However quickly, my husband and I realized that Ieper as a very important WWI battleground where for 4 years the Germans – and the rest of the world would battle over essentially 2 – 3 miles of land. The lessons we learned here about war in general and honoring those who serve was an important introduction about war for the beginning of our trip. What is the Dutch word for serendipity?
The next day this lesson in the reality of war further sunk in when we visited several of the 200 cemeteries in this small town. Seeing those white headstones of the Commonwealth soldiers near the former battlefields marked my first steps into my pilgrimage of my Dad’s experience. It was sobering in a way that I had not previously internalized. The memorials were so beautifully kept. There were flowers everywhere and the cemeteries were visited my many. There were soldiers that were only 15 years old. School children had made homemade wreaths and were given the instruction to find “their soldier” that had died and lay a poppy wreath on his grave (there were 4 women buried in the largest Tyne Cot cemetery however). 500,000 men lost their lives in one small town in Belgium. What a high price for trying to attain power and control over other countries.
My sister Jane visited Winchester England on the first days of our European trip while my husband and I went to Ieper, Belgium to visit our daughter’s fiance’s parents (more on that later). Jane met with a fellow who was a school boy of 13 when the American soldiers were stationed there. Actually, there were soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, as well as the British soldiers who were stationed there and were training for the D-Day invasion. My sister and her husband arrived 90 minutes late and Mr. Len Burke waited for her because he was so appreciative of how the American soldiers helped his country and also how they treated the citizens of Winchester. They particularly liked that the Americans were kind and were generous with their chewing gum and small change. The American soldiers were able to leave their barracks and training facility to come into town a few days per week. On their free time, the Americans played football (soccer) with the youth after school.
