European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 5, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday june 5, 1994 the stars and stripes Page la Rome visit a pilgrimage of peace by j. King Cruger staff writer Rome a american and Canadian veterans of world War ii returned saturday to Rome on a pilgrimage of remembrance and reconciliation. Fifty years to the Day after they liberated the italian capital the veterans More than 450 of them came to unveil a memorial. The eternal City is crammed with memorials but the one unveiled by the veterans is unique in that it honors the dead of All nations plus italian civilians caught Between the jaws of death in the bloody italian Campaign. A your pilgrimage Calls for an end of War on Earth a retired . Army Brig. Gen. Edward h. Thomas head of the Rome 1994 committee that organized the memorial ceremony told fellow veterans. When Allied forces streamed into Rome the first enemy capital to fall no bands played for the Only victorious army to invade the City from the South in 15 centuries. But on saturday an italian band played the Star spangled Banner and the Piazza Venezia the City a principal Square was filled with the sound of old men All proudly singing their National Anthem. A you Are citizens of Rome a Francesco Rutelli the City a mayor told the vets. A i be Here Tainow a amps Michael Abrams retired army Brig. Gen. Edward h. Thomas third from left univ Wijs a Monument honouring dead veterans and civilians at a ceremony in Rome on saturday. With Thomas Are from left Gen. Gordon r. Sullivan army chief of staff sen. Bob Dole r-kan., a Veteran of the Italy Campaign Reginald Bartholomew . Ambassador to Italy sen. Daniel Inouye a Hawaii also a Veteran of the Campaign Cesare Previti Italy a defense minister and Franccsco Rutelli mayor of Rome ing Freedom if you with your ideas and your Force would not have come to my beloved country and City. The words from our soul Are thank you a Rutelli said. A Gen. Gordon r. Sullivan the . Army a chief of staff told the veterans that their heroic achievements 50 years ago brought an end to a reign of terror. A fifty years later the world benefits from your deeds. You liberated Rome. You made the world Safe for democracy. God bless you a Sullivan said. The new Monument is in the Piazza Venezia across from the Victor Emmanuel memorial the site of Italy a Tomb of the unknown Soldier where the . And Canadian vets Laid a Wreath. Following the ceremonies at the Piazza the vets and their relatives a about 900 people in All a marched to a nearby reception behind pipes and Drums from the Canadian special service Force. A it s a a Ood feeling to come Back. For my wife and daughter its sightseeing for me its memories a said John Smith 69, from Pittsburgh who last marched through Rome with the 88th inf div on a similarly hot and sunny Day a half Century ago. Another returning vet Gene Guitierrez 72, said ailments kept Many of his fellow 1st special service Force vets from returning to Rome. A a lot of our folks Are crippled by wounds and can to get about. We had 900 of us husbands and wives Here m �?T84. Now we Are Down to 95 of us. Every year we get smaller and smaller a Guitierrez said. How vivid Are the veterans memories of Distant Battles and the liberation of Rome a a it Sas if it All happened yesterday a said 68-year-old Larry Bongle of Green Bay wis. A my most vivid memory is of marching past the colosseum and then the Victor Emmanuel memorial. I did no to know what that huge thing was. Later i Learned that it contains the Tomb of Italy a unknown Soldier from world War i a said Bongle adding Quot that made me Navy Seal forerunners things did t go swimmingly by Marc Mcfann . Bureau London a clockwork precision broke Down Early on a Day. Just ask Abben Maguire. A we screwed up a he recalled of june 6,1944. A we should have went in the night before and blown the Beach the next morning a said. Maguire of Hoboken . A but it was Daylight when we got there. They the germans were hitting Pur boat As we came in. I remember people going up in the air from the explosions. I lost some Good Maguire a member of the naval combat demolition units during world War ii was speaking about his experiences on the first Day of the . Invasion of Europe 50 years ago. The precursor of today s Navy seals the demolition units Basic Mission was to Clear the beaches of obstacles and mines the germans had planted to make it harder for the allies to land. On Friday Maguire was with three a Day seamen from the demolition units who attended a ceremony at . Naval forces Europe Headquarters in London. One of the four John Tal ton belatedly received five military awards he earned during the War. Jim Marks landed at Ujah Beach in France on a Day while Talton Maguire and Alfred Palacios hit Omaha Beach about the same time. A they dropped us off on a Sandbar a said Marks 67, a resident of st. Petersburg Fla. A was we started inward we got into water Over our Heads. We bad these packs full of explosives and they got full of water. We had to take our knives and Cut holes in them so the water would Drain out and we could go Forward. We nearly drowned getting to the a was soon As the boat hit the Beach our .50-caliber gunman on the starboard Side started firing and then the germans Cut Loose on us a said Tal ton 73, who lives in Radford a. A the Man beside of me named Wickam was killed. The Man on my left named Duffy was hit is amps Marc Mcfann Navy War Veteran John Talton receives a Long overdue medal from rear adm. David r. Morris. And on the next round they got the boat Crew the German guns were not the Only dangers the men faced. The water proved every bit As hazardous a and to some just As fatal. Palacios of Virginia Beach va., remembers the heavy toll exacted by the water. A when the ramp dropped i started running for the Beach but l was hit in the Arm and went Down a he said. A i patched up my Arm because the Bone was protruding and got up and went Back to the Landing Craft to get More explosives. All of a sudden i was hit again a this time in the Side. I crawled up the Beach to the base of the Cliffs and spent All Day watching the invasion. A i saw this ship coming in. They dropped the ramp and started Yelling a go go go a a Palacios 76, said. A the men jumped in the deep water All wearing heavy gear and the Guys in the Back started pushing the Guys in the front. They were falling Down and struggling in the water and the others were walking right on top of them. A i started Yelling and screaming and waving my Good Arm to try to get someone s attention but i passed out. Later 1 woke up and watched men enter the surf to pull out the men who had drowned. By evening there were three rows of dead lying on the Beach each Row about 100 Yards Long Quot Palacios said. Quot i started counting them and i guess i started crying because i see them anymore. But i estimate that there were several Hundred men stacked up there on the Beach. I was taken off the Beach about 7 . And taken Back to the United kingdom to a Field Hospital. My Arm had to be Talton escaped a watery death but he vividly recollects the struggle. A i went off the end of the ramp into 14 feet of water a he said a i was standing on the Bottom in Hobnail boots Long Woolen socks Long underwear a set of greens Field jacket a Canvas suit coated with Wax a Gas mask two canteens first Aid kit my carbine Rifle 90 rounds of ammunition and two satchels of explosives. I did no to think i was going to make it out of the water but somehow i did Quot the awards Talton received Friday from rear adm. David r. Morris Nav eur a Deputy commander were the presidential unit citation european african Middle Eastern Campaign medal Asiatic Pacific Campaign medal Good conduct medal and the american defense service medal. Talton said that he has had the official paperwork for the awards but that they were never formally presented to him. The four men Are returning to Normandy France this week. A i think the a Day celebrations Are fantastic because 1 think a lot of people have forgotten a Marks said. A i have talked to Young people who have College degrees and they have no idea what a Day was however Talton said Quot i have mixed emotions about All these a Day celebrations. I think that sometimes there is kind of a sideshow effect. In a not interested in
