The Italian Campaign

First Edition, 2015

As school children, most Americans learned about Wold War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. But few people know much about the Italian Campaign during that war. Of all the western fronts in World War II, the Italian campaign cost the most lives.

One of its survivors, Albert DeFazio, didn't like to talk about his experiences as an American soldier in World War II, but he was also concerned that so little was known about the suffering and death in Italy.

It took Albert decades to be able to describe his experiences in World War II - memories that still haunt him. Now, after seventy years, Albert DeFazio has told his story of the war he cannot forget.

This new, expanded edition, brings Albert's story to life with new material and images of Scenes from a Forgotten War.

72 photographs and illustrations

1 map

Contents

Chapter 1: Growing Up Italian

Chapter 2: Basic Training

Chapter 3: Shipping Out

Chapter 4: Front Lines

Chapter 5: The Battle

Chapter 6: Back to My Division

Chapter 7: The Ruins of Old Pompeii

Chapter 8: Famiglia

Chapter 9: Invasion of Anzio

Chapter 10: Back to the States

Chapter 11: Home Again

Chapter 12: Honorable Mention: Charles E. Kelly

Chapter 13: General Mark Clark

Appendix 1: The Men of Company A

Appendix 2: 143rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("Third Texas") 1917

Appendix 3: Insignia of the 36th Infantry Division

The Author

Photographs from Author's Collection

Scenes from a Forgotten War