Military Operations Map

Panel No. 2
. . . SUCH WERE THE MEN WHO LIE HERE
THEY RECEIVED EACH FOR HIS OWN
MEMORY PRAISE THAT WILL NEVER DIE
AND WITH IT THE GRANDEST OF ALL
SEPULCHRES A HOME IN THE MINDS OF
MEN

Panel No. 3
THEREFORE DO NOT MOURN WITH THE
PARENTS OF THE DEAD WHO ARE HERE
WITH US RATHER COMFORT THEM LET
THEIR BURDEN BE LIGHTENED BY THE
GLORY OF THE DEAD THE LOVE OF
HONOR ALONE IS NOT STALED BY AGE
. .. AND IT IS BY HONOR THAT THE END
OF LIFE IS CHEERED

(These three texts are from A. E.
Zimmern’s translation of Pericles’
Praise of the Dead as recorded by
Thucydides.)

Panel No. 4 (to the left of the Chapel
door)
O LORD SUPPORT US ALL THE DAY LONG
UNTIL THE SHADOWS LENGTHEN AND
THE EVENING COMES AND THE FEVER OF
LIFE IS OVER AND OUR WORK IS DONE
THEN IN THY MERCY GRANT US A SAFE
LODGING AND A HOLY REST AND PEACE
AT THE LAST

(This is taken from Cardinal
Newman’s Sermon XX and is in-
cluded in the Episcopal Prayer book.)

Panel No. 5(to the right of the Chapel
door)
OGOD WHO ART THE AUTHOR OF PEACE
AND LOVER OF CONCORD DEFEND US
THY HUMBLE SERVANTS IN ALL
ASSAULTS OF OUR ENEMIES THAT WE
SURELY TRUSTING IN THY DEFENSE MAY
NOT FEAR THE POWER OF ANY ADVER-
SARIES

(This also is from the Episcopal
Prayer book.)

Panel No. 6 (on the north wall, near-

est to the Tablets of the Missing)
THEIR BODIES ARE BURIED IN PEACE
THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

(From Ecclesiastes 44)

Surmounting each of panels 1, 3, 4,
5 and 6 are three granite roundels in
which have been carved different
military insignia. Appearing clock-

wise from the southeast corner of the
atrium are: Armor, Gunner's Mate,
Aerial Gunner; Coast Artillery
Corps, Boatswain’s Mate, Army Air
Corps; Corps of Engineers, Infantry,
Christian Chaplain; Jewish Chap-
lain, Field Artillery, Medical Corps;
and Signal Corps, Machinist’s Mate
and Aerial Bombardier.

A carved figure representing “The
Spirit of American Youth” appears
above the chapel door, while one
representing an American eagle
appears above panel No. 2, the center
south panel. Both figures were de-
signed by Sidney Waugh.

The bronze doors to the chapel
were fabricated by the Fonderia
Marinelli of Florence. From the
doorway, the altar of Belgian black
marble, with its bronze accouter-
ments, can be seen at the opposite
end of the chapel. Behind the altar is
a mosaic, 21 feet high and 24 feet
wide, designed by Barry Faulkner of
New York and executed by Fabrizio
Cassio of Rome. The mosaic depicts
Remembrance standing on a cloud,
holding in her arms the lilies of Res-
urrection. The figure is contemplat-
ing a crocus-strewn field of marble
headstones set among trees showing
the first buds of spring — symboliz-
ing new life. At the feet of Remem-
brance a helmet rests on a sword. The
mosaic is illuminated by a skylight.

The chapel walls and the two col-
umns flanking the altar are of pol-
ished Rosso Collemandino marble
from Versiglia, Italy. The floor is
paved with Verde Serpentino marble
from Sondrio, Italy; the pews are of
walnut.

The north atrium is similar in gen-
eral design to the south atrium. Set
into its west wall are two military
operations maps recalling the
achievements of the American forces
in the region. They were designed by
Bruno Bearzi of Florence, Italy from


THE AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

GLORY OF

General ofthe Armies

This agency of the United States government operates and maintains 24
American military cemeteries and 25 memorials, monuments and markers
in 15 countries. The Commission works to fulfill the vision of its first
chairman, General John J. Pershing. Pershing, Commander of the American
Expedition Force during World War I, promised that “Time will not dim the

18

HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY

A COMRADE IN ARMS
KNOWN BUT TO GOD

Decorated Gravesite of a World War II “Unknown”

glory of their deeds.”

UNITED STATES OFFICE

American Battle Monuments Commission
Court House Plaza II

Suite 500

2300 Clarendon Boulevard

Arlington, VA 22201

Telephone: (703) 696-6897

(703) 696-6896

FAX: (703) 696-6666

EUROPEAN OFFICE

Street Address:

68, rue du 19 Janvier

92380 - Garches, France

Mailing Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
American Embassy - Paris

PSC 116

APO AE 09777

Telephone: (011-33) 1-4701-1976 (from US.)
33-0-1-4701-1976 (within France)

(00-33) 1-4701-1976 (from other

European Countries)

MEDITERRANEAN OFFICE

Street Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
Mediterranean Region

Via Sallustiana 49

00187, Rome, Italy

Telephone: (011) 06-482-4157

FAX: (011-39) 06-487-1624

Mailing Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
American Embassy

PSC 833, Box 11

FPO AE 09624-0011

Telephone: (011-39) 06-4824-157

FAX: (11-39) 6-487-1624

PHILIPPINE OFFICE

Street Address:

Manila American Cemetery

and Memorial

Fort Bonifacio, Makati City

Republic of the Philippines

Mailing Address:

Manila American Cemetery

PSC 513, Box 5

FPO AP 96515-1800

Telephone: (011-632) 844-0212 (from U.S.)
844-0212 (from Metro-Manila)

FAX: (011-632) 812-4717

For more information about the overseas American military cemeteries and
other ABMC commemorative sites, please visit — www.abmc.gov

19


East-West Mall

ZUOLA AND THE SANTERNO VALLEY ON
21 SEPTEMBER. THE SAME DAY, BRITISH
TROOPS HAVING FORCED SUCCESSIVE
DEFENDED RIVER LINES, ENTERED
RIMINI. THE U.S. TWELFTH AIR FORCE
AND THE DESERT AIR FORCE MATE-
RIALLY CONTRIBUTED TO THESE AD-
VANCES BY THEIR CLOSE SUPPORT AND
THEIR CONTINUOUS ATTACKS AGAINST
REAR AREAS. THE ADVANCE TO THE
SANTERNO VALLEY HAD OUTFLANKED
THE STRONG DEFENSES OF FUTA PASS,
WHICH WAS OCCUPIED ON 22 SEPTEM-
BER BY AMERICAN FORCES. DURING
OCTOBER, THE ALLIED ADVANCES CON-
TINUED AT A SLOWER PACE AGAINST
STIFFENED RESISTANCE. BY THE END OF
THE MONTH, HAMPERED BY BAD
WEATHER AND MUD, SHORTAGES OF
PERSONNEL AND DIFFICULTIES OF
SUPPLY, THE FIFTH ARMY, NOW ONLY
NINE MILES SHORT OF BOLOGNA AND
WITHIN SIGHT OF THE PO VALLEY, PRE-
PARED FOR ITS SECOND WINTER IN
ITALY.

EARLY IN APRIL 1945, GAINS ALONG
BOTH COASTS MARKED THE END OF THE
WINTER HALT. AFTER A WEEK OF HEAVY
FIGHTING OUR TROOPS BROKE INTO THE
PO VALLEY. PRECEDED BY BOMBER AND
FIGHTER AIRCRAFT WHICH HARASSED
THE FLEEING ENEMY, THE ALLIED AD-

R

VANCE CONTINUED UNCHECKED
ACROSS THE PO, THEN SPREAD OUT TO
THE NORTH, EAST AND WEST TO CLOSE
THE FRONTIERS. ON 2 MAY 1945, THE
ENEMY IN ITALY SURRENDERED UN-
CONDITIONALLY.

The central panel of the north wall
is engraved with this extract from
General Eisenhower's “Crusade in
Europe”: FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND
INJUSTICE AND OPPRESSION IS OURS
ONLY IN THE MEASURE THAT MEN WHO
VALUE SUCH FREEDOM ARE READY TO
SUSTAIN ITS POSSESSION, TO DEFEND IT
AGAINST EVERY THRUST FROM WITHIN
OR WITHOUT.

Below the inscriptions on the
north wall are six key maps recording
the development of the war against
Germany and the war against Japan.

Along the frieze above the inscrip-
tions are nine escutcheons of Baveno
granite on which are embossed the
names of these ground and air battles
in which American forces partici-
pated: Gela-Palermo-Troina; Saler-
no-Altavilla- Volturno; Magnano-San
Pietro-Rapido; Cassino-Anzio-Cis-

THis FIGURE” WAS FORMERLY PART OF A MONUMENT
ERECTED IN THE FUTA PASS BY
THE 36157 INFANTRY 9157 DIVISION
TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF THEIR FALLEN COMRADES
AND TO COMMEMORATE THE ACHIEVEMENTS. OF THE REGIMENT.
IN WORLD WAR tt

361st Regimental Statue of Soldier Overlooking Plot B from the East

13


South Atrium

Tablets of the Missing

10

data furnished by the American
Battle Monuments Commission.

The larger of the maps pictures
Northern Italy and portrays military
operations to the end of the war from
the vicinity of the cemetery north-
ward. The military operations as well
as the general topography of the area
are depicted in a mosaic of colored
marbles known as intarsia, an art
form for which the Florence region is
famous. The map is embellished in
its upper left-hand corner by twelve
shields in four rows of three, each
bearing the shoulder insignia of
American ground and air units
which participated in the fighting in
Northern Italy. From left to right,
these are: Fifth Army, Twelfth Air
Force, Fifteenth Air Force; II Corps,
IV Corps, 1st Armored Division; 10th
Mountain Division, 34th Infantry
Division, 85th Infantry Division; and
88th Infantry Division, 91st Infantry
Division and 92d Infantry Division.

The smaller map is an insert into
the larger map just below the shields.
It illustrates the broad outline of mili-
tary operations which took place in
Sicily and Italy beginning in July
1943. The map was executed in scag-
liola by Emilio Martelli of Florence,
Italy, a process consisting of draw-
ings in colored artificial composi-
tions which are inlaid in marble and
glazed.

A stone planter runs the length of
the wall at the foot of the maps. In
front of the planter is a low bronze
railing with regularly spaced bronze
uprights.

The Baveno granite panels on the
side walls of the atrium are inscribed
with texts in English and Italian ex-
plaining the maps. The English and
Italian inscriptions on the short side
wall immediately to the left of the
maps apply to the insert map and
read in English as follows:

ON 10 JULY 1943, AMERICAN AND BRIT-
ISH FORCES, COVERED BY GUNFIRE OF

THE WESTERN NAVAL TASK FORCE AND
AIRCRAFT OF THE TWELFTH AIR FORCE,
LANDED ON THE SHORES OF SICILY. THE
U.S. SEVENTH ARMY ADVANCED RAP-
IDLY OVER THE WEST AND NORTH OF
THE ISLAND, WITH THE BRITISH EIGHTH
ARMY ON ITS RIGHT. THIS SWIFT CAM-
PAIGN LIBERATED THE ISLAND IN 39
DAYS.

ON 9 SEPTEMBER, UNDER COVER OF
NAVAL AND AIR BOMBARDMENT, THE
U.S. FIFTH ARMY LANDED NEAR
SALERNO. FIGHTING ITS WAY INLAND IT
JOINED THE EIGHTH ARMY WHICH HAD
CROSSED THE STRAITS OF MESSINA. BY 1
OCTOBER, NAPLES AND THE AIRFIELDS
NEAR FOGGIA HAD BEEN SEIZED; FROM
THE LATTER THE U.S. FIFTEENTH AIR
FORCE LAUNCHED ITS STRATEGIC AT-
TACKS ON AUSTRIA, THE BALKANS AND
GERMANY.

AGAINST DETERMINED OPPOSITION,
THE FIFTH AND EIGHTH ARMIES DROVE
NORTHWARD. TO ASSIST THE ADVANCE,
ALLIED TROOPS ON 22 JANUARY 1944
LANDED IN THE ANZIO REGION BUT THE
ENEMY’S PROMPT REACTION PRE-
VENTED EXPLOITATION OF THIS BEACH-
HEAD. ON 11 MAY THE TWO ARMIES
LAUNCHED A GENERAL ATTACK; THE
FIFTH ARMY AIDED BY THE TWELFTH AIR
FORCE BREACHED THE ENEMY DEFENSES
IN THE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF GAETA.
THE TROOPS IN THE BEACHHEAD JOINED
THE ATTACK AND ON 4 JUNE THE FIFTH
ARMY ENTERED ROME.

The English and Italian inscrip-
tions on the left and right panels of
the north wall, respectively, apply to
the large map of northern Italy and
tead in English as follows:

FOLLOWING THE LIBERATION OF
ROME, THE ALLIES MAINTAINED THEIR
PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY. BY 18 JULY 1944,
THE U.S. FIFTH ARMY HAD ADVANCED
150 MILES UP THE WEST COAST AND HAD
LIBERATED LEGHORN. IN CENTRAL
ITALY AND ALONG THE ADRIATIC THE
BRITISH EIGHTH ARMY HAD PARAL-
LELED THIS ADVANCE. AFTER PAUSING
TO REORGANIZE, THE FIFTH ARMY
CROSSED THE ARNO AND PURSUED THE
RETREATING ENEMY INTO THE MOUN-
TAINS TO THE OUTPOSTS OF THE GOTHIC
LINE.

AFTER DIFFICULT FIGHTING THE FIFTH
ARMY CUT THROUGH THIS STRONG
DEFENSE SYSTEM TO REACH FIREN-

11


16

A View of the Graves Area

SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC

Upon request, and without cost, the

following information and services

are provided to family members

and friends of those interred or com-

memorated at ABMC’s cemeteries

and memorials:

¢ name, location and general infor-
mation about the cemetery, monu-
ment or memorial;

¢ plot, row and grave number and, if
applicable, memorialization site;

¢ authorization for issuance of fee-
free passports for members of the
immediate family traveling over-
seas specifically to visit an ABMC
grave or memorialization site;

ea photograph of grave and/or
memorialization sites affixed to a
large color lithograph of the ap-
propriate cemetery and memorial;

* best route and modes of travel in-
country to cemetery or memorial
site;

* general information about accom-
modations in the vicinity of the
cemetery or memorial;

* arrangement for floral decoration
of a grave or memorialization
site. (Weather permitting, a color
polaroid photograph of the floral
decoration in place is provided to
the donor).

Corozal American Cemetery, Corozal, Republic of Panama

17


Florence American Cemetery
and Memorial

The American Battle Monuments Commission


2009

Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, Seine (Paris), France


terna; Rome-Leghorn-Arno; Futa-
Santerno-Radicosa; Serchio-Bolo-
gna-Po Valley; Ploesti-Vienna-
Munich; Regensburg-Budapest-
Brenner.

The Tablets of the Missing, which
connect the north and south atria are
constructed of travertine stone and
measure 17’6” in height and 138’ in
length. Shaded by plane trees, the
Baveno granite panels on the Tablets
are inscribed with the names and
particulars of 1,409 Missing in Action
in the region or lost or buried at sea.
They came from Canada, the District
of Columbia and from every state of
the Union except Alaska and Hawaii.

United States Army and
Army Air Forces! ..... . 1,397
United States Navy ...... 12

Without confirmed information to
the contrary, a War Department Ad-
ministrative Review Board estab-
lished the official date of death of
those commemorated on the Tablets
of the Missing as one year and a day
from the date on which the individual
was placed in Missing in Action
status.

1 During World War Il the Air Forces were
part of the Army.

Running the full length of the Tab-
lets of the Missing above the names
is the following inscription:

HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF
AMERICANS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN
THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY AND
WHO SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES.

The pylon or stele in front of the
Tablets of the Missing is 69 feet high
and triangular in plan. Faced in
Roman travertine, it is surmounted
by a sculptured figure in Baveno
granite designed by Sidney Waugh
of New York. The figure represents
the spirit of peace hovering over the
fallen, bearing olive branches. Flying
beside her out of cloud-like forms is
the American eagle, guardian of jus-
tice and honor. This sculpture as well
as the reliefs in the two atria were
executed by Polli & Cardini of
Baveno, Italy. The following dedica-
tory inscription appears on the pylon
in English and Italian:

1941-1945
IN PROUD MEMORY OF HER SONS AND IN
HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICES
THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Protection from possible landslide
damage to the memorial is provided

Visitors’ Room

14

by massive reinforced concrete walls
on its sides and rear.

THE GRAVES AREA

The 4,398 headstones are separated
by paths of grass into eight plots des-
ignated A to H, four on each side of
the central or east-west mall.

Within the graves area, the head-
stones seem to radiate in gentle arcs
from the memorial pylon, curving
inward slightly, contributing to the
harmonious relationship between
the graves area and the memorial.

These honored Dead who gave
their lives in our country’s service
came from the Philippine Islands,
China, Turkey, Spain, the District of
Columbia and from every state in the
Union except Alaska.

Two headstones mark the multiple
burials of two Unknowns whose
remains could not be separated and
one headstone marks the grave of
three Unknowns. Five pairs of
brothers are buried side-by-side
within the cemetery.

The statues honoring the memory
of the fallen comrades of the 361st
and 363d Regiments of the 91st Divi-
sion originally were located else-
where in Italy. Because they were
being defaced and thought worthy of
retention, an agreement was made
with the regiments to display them
in perpetuity at the Florence Ameri-
can Cemetery.

PLANTINGS

The graves area is enclosed by tree
and shrubbery masses in which Ital-
ian stone pines, Italian cypresses,
oriental plane trees, willows, holly
oaks and cedars of Lebanon pre-
dominate. There are also flowering
shrubs of oleander, laurel-cherry,
crepe myrtle and Chinese starjas-
mine. A double row of oriental plane
trees flank the mall.

On the north side of the cemetery
is a road bordered with German iris
which leads to the service area, the
superintendent’s quarters and the
memorial and its parking area.

363d Regimental Statue of Soldier Overlooking Plot A from the East

15


were converging on Bologna from
the south and west, while at the same
time the British Eighth Army was
converging on it from the east. The
city fell to the U.S. Fifth Army on 21
April 1945. With the establishment of
a bridgehead across the Po River on
23 April 1945, the fleeing enemy
forces were pursued rapidly north-
ward.

The final week of the war saw wide
advances throughout northern Italy.
While infantry and mountain troops
of the U.S. Fifth Army drove into the
foothills of the Alps, its armored col-
umns and motorized infantry raced
up the Po Valley, reaching Milan on
29 April 1945. During this time, the
British Eighth Army swept northeast
along the Adriatic coastal plain to
liberate Padua and Venice.

After seizing Genoa, U.S. forces
drove westward to make contact with
the French as resistance began to col-
lapse everywhere. On 2 May 1945,
the enemy troops in northern Italy
surrendered.

SITE

The Florence American Cemetery, 70
acres in extent, is one of fourteen
permanent American World War II
military cemetery memorials erected
on foreign soil by the American Battle
Monuments Commission.

The site was liberated on 3 August
1944 by the South African 6th

ij

Armoured Division, and later
became part of the zone of the U.S.
Fifth Army. It is located astride the
Greve River, and is framed by
wooded hills which rise several
hundred feet to the west. The site
was selected as a permanent ceme-
tery after a survey of temporary
cemeteries established in northern
Italy during World War II revealed
that there was at least one major ob-
jection in every instance to retention
of any of the temporary sites as a
permanent cemetery.

The 4,402 servicemen and women
interred in the cemetery represent 39
percent of the temporary burials orig-
inally made between Rome and the
Alps. Most died in the fighting
which occurred after the capture of
Rome in June 1944. Included among
them are casualties of the heavy
fighting in the Apennines shortly
before the war's end.

ARCHITECTS

Architects for the cemetery and its
memorial were McKim, Mead and
White of New York. The landscape
architects were Clarke and Rapuano,
also of New York.

GENERAL LAYOUT

The two entrances to the cemetery
are located about 250 meters apart on
the Via Cassia. Connecting them is a

The Memorial

North Atrium

crescent-shaped drive within the
cemetery which leads to parking
areas on the east or near bank of the
Greve River, the cemetery office, the
visitors’ building and a small bridge.
The office and visitors’ building face
each other at the near end of the
bridge.

On the west bank of the Greve
River are the graves area, the memo-
rial, the service area and the superin-
tendent’s quarters. A wide east-west
mall of fine grass separates the graves
area into two parts. Overlooking it
from high ground at the west end of
the mall is the memorial; a large flag-
pole overlooks it from the east end,

Construction of the cemetery and
memorial was completed in 1959.

THE MEMORIAL

The memorial consists of two open
atria or courts, a connecting wall on
which are affixed tablets with the
names of the Missing in the region, a
chapel and a stele or pylon sur-

mounted by a sculptured figure rep-
resenting the spirit of peace. The wall
and chapel are on the topmost of
three broad terraces overlooking the
cemetery. The base of the stele is on
the lower terrace.

The south atrium serves as a fore-
court to the chapel. Like its counter-
part on the north, it has a rectangular
pool and jet in its center and it is
faced with Roman travertine. The
inner recessed walls of the atria are
panelled in Baveno granite from
quarries at the north end of Lake
Como.

Each recessed inner wall panel of
the south atrium bears an inscrip-
tion. Reading clockwise from its
southeast corner, the inscriptions are
as follows:

Panel No. 1
THEY FACED THE FOE AS THEY DREW
NEAR HIM IN THE STRETCH OF THEIR
OWN MANHOOD AND WHEN THE
SHOCK OF BATTLE CAME THEY IN A
MOMENT OF TIME AT THE CLIMAX OF
THEIR LIVES WERE RAPT AWAY FROM A
WORLD FILLED FOR THEIR DYING EYES
NOT WITH TERROR BUT WITH GLORY


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MEMORIAL

Parking Acca

SERVICE AREA

BR

Location of Cemetery Features

Through June and the first half of
July, Allied forces advanced rapidly
northward from Rome. Pursuit was
energetic even though many Allied
troops were being withdrawn in
preparation for the attack in southern
France. Leghorn fell to U.S. troops of
the U.S. Fifth Army on 18 July 1944;
five days later they entered Pisa.
Florence fell to British troops of the
U.S. Fifth Army on 4 August 1944. By
then, the Allies had crossed the Arno
and reached the outposts of the
Gothic Line, the last enemy defen-
sive system in Italy. There they
paused to reorganize and resupply
before continuing their offensive.

On 25 August, the British Eighth
Army attacked on the eastern half of
the Gothic Line, driving into the
mountains. Several days later, the
U.S. Fifth Army penetrated the
Gothic Line on the west as a prelude
to outflanking and occupying the

strong defenses of the Futa Pass.
Continuing its advance, the British
Eighth Army crossed several
strongly defended rivers and entered
Rimini on 21 September 1944.

In October 1944, a final bid to cap-
ture Bologna brought the U.S. Fifth
Army to within nine miles of that
city. There with the Po Valley in
sight, the U.S. Fifth Army and the
British Eighth Army were forced by
harsh weather conditions and short-
ages of personnel and supplies to halt
for the winter.

Preceded by massive air and artil-
lery bombardment, the British
Eighth Army resumed the offensive
northward on 9 April 1945. Five days
later the U.S. Fifth Army joined the
attack, supported by the heaviest air
assault yet employed in Italy. Al-
though the offensive met stiff oppo-
sition, within one week U.S. troops
had driven into the Po Valley and


Chapel Interior

Hlorence J

American

Cemetery
ant

Memorial

SE TEEHORN
oer

os
treet

IMPRUNETA

LOCATION

The Florence American Cemetery is
situated approximately 7.5 miles (12
kilometers) south of Florence, Italy,
on the west side of the Via Cassia, a
main highway connecting Florence
with Siena and Rome. The Certosa-
Florence exit of the Rome-Milan
autoroute is two miles south of the
cemetery.

Train service to Florence from the
principal cities of Italy and Europe is
excellent. Bus and taxi service is
available from the railroad station to
the cemetery. A “SITA” bus stop is
conveniently located just outside the
cemetery entrance.

Hotel accommodations in Florence
are ample.

HOURS

The cemetery is open daily to the
public between the hours of 9:00 a.m.
and 5:00 p.m. (The cemetery is closed
on January 1 and December 25. It
is open on all other U.S. and host
country holidays.)

HISTORY

Following the capture of Rome on 4
June 1944, the Allies pursued the
enemy northward toward the Po
River and the Alps. For the first time
since the Allies landed at Salerno in
September 1943, the enemy was in
full retreat.

Entrance to Cemetery