On this day in 1945, the 10th Mountain Division (the U.S. Army’s mountain warfare unit during World War II), remembered the lives of their fallen in a memorial service held at the U.S. Military Cemetery in Castelfiorentino, Italy.
The service included music by the Army Band; prayers by Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish chaplains; a memorial address by Major General George P. Hays; the placing of a wreath; and the firing of volleys. It concluded with a bugler playing “Taps.”
In 1949, those interred at Castelfiorentino and other temporary cemeteries were relocated to the Florence American Cemetery, a 70-acre cemetery situated alongside the Greve River. New York architects McKim, Mead and White along with landscape architects Clarke and Rapuano designed the cemetery and memorial, which was completed in 1959.
Of the 4,402 servicemen and women interred at the Florence American Cemetery, 355 were part of the 10th Mountain Division. At last year’s Memorial Day service at the cemetery, Boy Scouts placed carnations on the graves of the 10th Mountain Division’s fallen.
To learn more about the 10th Mountain Division and its ties to Colorado, check out DPL’s 10th Mountain Division Resource Center—the official repository for all records and artifacts related to the World War II 10th Mountain Division.
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freedom isn't free
freedom isn't free
we live in the land of the free because of the brave
we owe our freedom to them
the only way to repay a life is with a life devoted to liberty and justice for all
Thank you for reading and
Thank you for reading and commenting, Stan!
My Uncle, Sgt Ralph Brainard,
My Uncle, Sgt Ralph Brainard, attended this memorial service and I have a pamphlet like the one above. He was in the 85th company L
A nice keepsake to have.
A nice keepsake to have. Thanks for sharing and reading, Gordon!
I donated mine do the Denver
I donated mine do the Denver Library to keep it safe and to share with everyone . Ralph was a 30 cal machine gunner and told some really scary stories about combat , but on a lighter note , heres one he shared. He was sunning himself on a German bunker after they had taken Mount Belevedere when he heard Germans talking. 8 Germans were in the bunker below him , but were glad to surrender to him
Thanks for your donation,
Thanks for your donation, Gordon! And thank you for reading and commenting.
My dad PFC Willie Calvin
My dad PFC Willie Calvin Anderson Sr. was buried at U S Military Cemetery at Castelfiorentino, Italy Plat 0, Row 46, Grave 1984. His remains were brought home and buried in Blackwood Springs Baptist Church Cemetery when I was a younh boy. I remember the 21 gun Salute and Taps.
Thanks for reading and
Thanks for reading and sharing, Willie!
I remember 2 things very…
I remember 2 things very clearly about my Dad's Stateside funeral in Calhoun Georgia, our home town. First was the tremendous number of fresh flowers at the Funeral and the 21 Gun Salute at the Cemetery. There were so many flowers the smell was almost overwhelming. Lots of local folk sent flowers for my Dad. At the Cemetery, I would jerk each time one of the shots were fired. We never saw one another. He wrote Mother telling her he didn't think he would make it back alive and asked her to name me Willie Cakvin Jr. after him. My older brother who clearly remembered Dad was always a little angry because I was the Junior instead of me. I remember once hearing my Mom tell David that he should not be upset because he had memory of Dad playing games with him but I never would. He understood but always resented it a little.
I remember 2 things very…
I remember 2 things very clearly about my Dad's Stateside funeral in Calhoun Georgia, our home town. First was the tremendous number of fresh flowers at the Funeral and the 21 Gun Salute at the Cemetery. There were so many flowers the smell was almost overwhelming. Lots of local folk sent flowers for my Dad. At the Cemetery, I would jerk each time one of the shots were fired. We never saw one another. He wrote Mother telling her he didn't think he would make it back alive and asked her to name me Willie Cakvin Jr. after him. My older brother who clearly remembered Dad was always a little angry because I was the Junior instead of me. I remember once hearing my Mom tell David that he should not be upset because he had memory of Dad playing games with him but I never would. He understood but always resented it a little.
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