Biscari massacre The Biscari massacre includes two World War II incidents in which U . S . soldiers were involved in killing 73 unarmed Italian and German prisoners of war ( POWs ) at Biscari ( modern Acate , southern Sicily , Italy ) on 14 July 1943 . Background . As part of the Allied invasion of Sicily , the Seventh United States Army under Lieutenant General George S . Patton and the British Eighth Army under General Sir Bernard L . Montgomery invaded the southeast corner of the island on 10 July 1943 . As part of Lieutenant General Omar H . Bradley ’ s II Corps , the 45th Infantry Division was given a difficult task despite the fact that it was the only “ green ” division participating in the invasion . The 45th Divisions ' s 157th Infantry Regiment and 179th Infantry Regiment were tasked with capturing several coastal towns and the Comiso airfield before linking up with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division . The 180th Infantry Regiment was tasked with capturing the Biscari airfield and linking up the US 1st Infantry Division . The 180th Infantry Regiment performed so poorly in the first 48 hours of the landing that Major General Troy Middleton considered relieving its commander . Instead , the assistant division commander was sent to exercise close supervision over the regiment . Following the capture of the Biscari airfield on 14 July 1943 , troops of the 180th Infantry killed 71 Italian and two German POWs in two separate incidents . In the first incident , 36 Italians died , while the second killing involved 35 Italians and two Germans . Compton Incident . As commander of C Company , 1st Battalion , 180th Infantry Regiment , Captain John T . Compton landed south of the Acate River amidst sporadic mortar and small arms fire . Pursuing his first objective , he pushed his company towards Highway 115 , joined with some 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers , and attacked several German positions . Compton did not sleep during the first three days of the invasion . He was simply “ too excited to sleep . ” On the fourth day , he managed to grab about an hour and a half of sleep before the attack on the Biscari airfield . Around 11 : 00 P . M . , C Company set off and reached the airfield around 11 : 00 A . M . on 14 July 1943 . Immediately they began to receive artillery , mortar , and sniper fire . The sniper fire was especially deadly . From a concealed position in a nearby draw , the snipers targeted wounded G . I . s as well as the medics attempting to aid them . Out of 34 men in Compton ’ s 2nd Platoon , 12 were either wounded in action ( WIA ) or killed in action ( KIA ) . In an attempt to locate the snipers ’ firing position , Private Raymond C . Marlow crept down into a nearby draw . He had only gone about 25 yards into the draw before he spotted an Italian soldier with a rifle . Marlow raised his rifle and shouted at the Italian . The Italian ran away and entered a dugout that was located further in the draw . After a minute or two , the Italian soldier emerged with thirty - five others , several of which were in civilian clothing . Marlow walked them up the hill to his outpost and reported to his squad leader , Sergeant Hair . “ I told him that I had gotten those fellows that were shooting at us while we were getting out from under that artillery fire , ” Marlow reported . Acting as an interpreter , Private John Gazzetti asked the prisoners if they had been acting as snipers . He got no response . Hair herded the prisoners out of the draw and asked 1st Lieutenant Blanks what he should do with them . Blanks , in turn , asked Compton for instructions . Compton asked Blanks if he was sure that they were the same snipers that had been shooting at them all day . When Blanks answered in the affirmative , Compton said bluntly , “ Get them shot . ” Without hesitation , Blanks ordered Hair to assemble a firing squad and shoot the prisoners . Compton accompanied the firing squad of about 11 men to the ridge overlooking the draw . He told the G . I . s to line up and they positioned themselves about six feet away from the prisoners . The prisoners started pleading for them not to shoot . Gazzetti , the interpreter , asked Compton if he had anything to say to the prisoners . Compton did not have anything he wanted to ask them . Compton told the men to commence firing on his order and that he “ didn ’ t want a man left standing when the firing was done . ” Seeing that their fate was sealed , a few of the prisoners began to run . The firing squad opened fire and killed all of the prisoners . West Incident . On the same day , and near the same airfield , Sergeant Horace B . West was ordered to escort a recently captured group of prisoners to the rear for interrogation . Along the way , West halted the column and shot 35 Italian prisoners and 2 German prisoners with his Thompson submachine gun . Aftermath . When he was informed of the massacres , General Omar Bradley told General George S . Patton that U . S . troops had murdered some 50 - 70 prisoners in cold blood . Patton noted his response in his diary : I told Bradley that it was probably an exaggeration , but in any case to tell the Officer to certify that the dead men were snipers or had attempted to escape or something , as it would make a stink in the press and also would make the civilians mad . Anyhow , they are dead , so nothing can be done about it . Bradley refused Patton ' s suggestions . In regard to the first incident , Captain John T . Compton was court martial ed for killing 36 POWs under his charge . Relying upon the " respondeat superior " legal doctrine , Compton defended his actions by claiming that he was merely following orders from his superiors . The investigating officer and the Judge Advocate declared that Compton ' s actions to be unlawful , but the court martial nevertheless acquitted him . He was transferred to the 179th Infantry Regiment and was killed in action on 8 November 1943 in Italy . The U . S . Army also charged Sergeant Horace T . West for the second incident . West admitted he had participated in the executions . Accordingly , he was found guilty , stripped of rank and sentenced to life in prison . He was later dishonorably discharged as a Private . The U . S . Army never held Colonel Forrest E . Cookson , the Regimental Commander , accountable , as there was no evidence to suggest that he had either ordered the murders or had advance knowledge of them .