The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-09-18
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VICToRY IN sTCILY

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 A few minutes later General Eisenhower and staff were aboard destroyer, waiting in the heavy seas. As Ike climbed to the deck he chuckled. q never know what to do when they pipe me on"
 The next morning the ship ape preached it's destination. Daylight revealed frantic seuttllng about In the harbor, while in the distance landings were still in progress and biz guns boomed, The ship was crowded with generals, admlrtals and lesser officers. German planes flew in low to strafe and machine. gun landing forces. General Eisen. hover was having breakfast with General Patton, Like was writing Q
 message to oil ships; Best wishes and good luck"
 Fifteen minutes later--at e:46-- the command faction Statlonsl sounded. The crew began to Are, Germans hidden on the beach were bombardlng General Eisenhowers ship. When advised to take cover In Q place of safety, he quietly waved his advisers aside,
 This Is war;" he said, "and I'm in ltl'
 one of the officers aboard ship told later how the general paced the deck, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand A sailor, looking ct him with admiration, exclaimed, "Geesl I bet the old Man would give hls four stars to De the first man ashore"
 At i0:2A on this eventful morns mg General Eisenhower, accom. uanied by his aide, Lieut-Com, Butcher, and John 0unther, war correspondent, stepped ashore on Q sheltered cape on the southeastern tip of Sicily-the first three Amer" leans to set foot on the island,
 Syracuse fell i8 hours after the first landing. PuzSallo surrendered to naval forces after intense shell. ing on the following day. The bat- tic of dela came to a victorious conclusion Q day later, after Amer. ican troops had twice been driven from the town. General Patton into the surf and led his men In storming the beaches. British troops landed near Catania In sight of the volcano, Mount Etna. Ragusa fell under the American, British and Canadian onSlaughts
 The battle Of Catania was the greatest in the Sieilian campaign, Allied bombers dropped destruction on the city. British paratroops land. cd and clear a strategic bridge for the arrival of advance units. Re. distance was strong, but on July 10 the British were within three miles of the city. The axis contested every foot of the way,
 American forces, marching across Sicily, eaptpured Palermo on July 9 and continued to advance. Cata. raia was still holding out The Brit. iah attempted to enlarge hteir hrldgehead across the Dittaino River, while naval forces shelled enemy positions from the seq,
 The battle of Catania was won cn Aug. 8, when the British en" tered the ruined citadel after c 20- day drive. American forces took Trolna without opposition and swept Ofs lIlB i5T1tihH NuO ttVW tVuSASS the foot of Mount Etna. Desperate fighting slowed down the Allied ad' vanees until on Aug Q American troops landed behind the Axis lines aA Cape Orlando, Randa22o, Brolo and other sieillan villages.
 The power of the Axis was broken. They were forced into c pocket of 100 square miles, Again | they were in retreat, aS thousands were killed, wounded, and forced to surrender, while their comrades fled in ships across the Straits Of MeSslna to the Italian mainland,
 The Americans entered MeSsinH on Aug. i7. The scenes which | greeted them were memorable. Sicilians fell on their knees and prayed: they threw flowers in the path of their liberators from Amer lea. Italian mothers who had sons in America threw their arms around | the soldiers and kissed them. Italian | fathers grasped them by the hands, while their daughters and children | broke into songs of rejoicing,
 General Eisenhower sat in hs headquarters and read the mes. sageS that were now bombarding | him with high praise. Ponderlng over one of tho dispatches in his hand, he bowed gratefully and put it down on the table, It read:
 Al of Us are thrilled over the sicllian campaign now successfully concluded In accordance with the timing on dplanning of tho Allies, This is especially true when we realize that the enemy force in Sicily amounted to 406 1000 men,
 "EVents of the last 90 days show what can Do done by teamwork based on preparation training and timing, mad above oil gallantry, on the sea and in the air.
 ''F'rom the ancient citadel of quebec I send you my warm con. gratulations and to the officers and men under your command-Brit. ish, Canadian, French and Amer lcan-my thanks and enthusiastic gpprobatlon. Tell them all, well scne."
 Franklin Deiano Roosevelt.
 Eisenhower had fought and won the campaign under the rank Of c temporary major-generai- He had entered N1e war N c lieutenant. colonel q Bcant two years previously Upon the completion of the sicilian campaign-hls second great victory in the war--Presldent Roosevelt on Aug. 3i. ie43, announced his pro. motion to the permanent rank of Major. General and awarded him the Distinguished Service Medal Oak Leaf Cluster.