Today we started our day with a 45 minute ride to the Sicily- Rome American Cemetery. This is a beautiful Cemetery maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission in Nettuno, Italy. Nettuno borders Anzio beach where the Allies landed in early 1944. We were told about the history of the Cemetery. American soldiers marched on the same ground that was later turned into the Cemetery. Four of my colleagues had done research on soldiers buried in this Cemetery and delivered a eulogy today. I also delivered a Eulogy today for Joseph Ford Berry.
Veronica Stasio, Interpretive Guide at the Cemetery tells us some of the history
There is this beautiful little island in the middle of a pond as you enter the cemetery with fountains all around. The Monument with maps and a chapel is in the distance.
Just a few of the 6000 graves in the Sicily-Rome Cemetery
In this view you can see the graves with the Monument in the background and those Italian Umbrella Pine Trees that are distinct to Italy and a nice feature in this Cemetery.
This view is from behind the graves, but it really gives a good sense of the trees.
This is the Brothers in Arms statue that is in the middle of the Monument. The man on the left is an Army soldier, and a Navy sailor is on the right.
This map is inside the Monument and shows the landings in Sicily where Captain Berry lost his life.
Close up view of Gela in Sicily where Joseph Ford Berry was killed.
This is the ceiling of the Chapel and is meant to evoke the signs of the zodiac visible in the night sky and their locations relative to the men on the ships when they invaded Sicily and what they would have seen for constellations looking up at the night sky.
This is the altar inside the chapel. The Sicily Rome Cemetery is the only American Cemetery that has put the names of the missing inside its chapel
These are the States from which some of the many missing came. I took this picture to highlight one sailor from Maine.
Pardon the zip ties, I didn't plan my attaching of Joseph For Berry's photo very well in advance. I was very pleased I had a photo of him to bring. The patch at the bottom is from his Division and he would have worn one like it on his uniform.
I'm thankful to one of the other teachers in my travel group from Texas. She took took this photo and also recorded the eulogy I read to honor the sacrifice made by Joseph Ford Berry. Below is the video of me reading the Eulogy for Joseph Ford Berry.
This was the special part of my day. I was nervous leading up to this moment, but found myself with a sense of calm once the moment arrived to deliver the eulogy at his grave on video. I can't really describe the feeling. It wasn't really sadness as I felt so honored to have this opportunity, and yet I couldn't help but feel sad at the same time. Once it was over, I removed the photo and I looked at his grave for a while with the sand from Omaha Beach rubbed into the text to give it meaning and make it stand out. It was just a moving moment...
With this angle I was just trying to give a sense of where Captain Berry lies relative to nearby graves.
There is a nice Visitor's Center at each American Cemetery, and Sicily Rome is no different. Inside is a brief film that gives a sense for the part of the war the Fallen Heroes buried here were connected to. There are also photos and text to help explain the battle in Sicily and the landings at Anzio. The text is in Italian and English.
These are some artifacts from the fighting in Italy
These were guides given to soldiers to help them with interacting with the locals.
There are several kiosks like this in the museum that honor soldiers buried in the Cemetery.
After our emotional and meaningful visit to the Cemetery, we went nearby to the Anzio Beach where the Allies landed in 1944. It is now completely on an Italian Military Base. It is a secure sight not available to the public, but the Italian Government made a special exception for us because of our project the gratitude they feel to the United States for their liberation. We were also told that they do open one part of the beach to the people of Anzio in the months of July and August and on the weekends only, because of how hot it gets.
Anzio Beach
The Italian Colonel explaining the Allied landings to us
Another part of the Beach
The beach with the city of Anzio in the distance
I am bringing home this shell and some of the sand that was sitting under it. I took this to show that it came from Anzio Beach with the Sea right n front of it. American soldiers stepped in this place. One of the soldiers I learned about from Maine who was killed in France an dis buried in the Rhone American Cemetery is named George Arsenault. Arsenault landed at Anzio in 1944 before he was killed a few months later. I plan to give the shell and the sand to his brother Leo when I return home.
Above is the Beachhead War Cemetery. This is a British Commonwealth Cemetery and contains the graves of several hundred British, Canadians, and others from British Commonwealth nations who died in Italy during World War Two. It is near the American Cemetery and we found it a moving place in a different way. We also found it interesting to compare the two cemeteries. What follows are a few photos from this cemetery.
After an emotional morning visiting the two cemeteries, we had some time to explore some more of Rome. I went with a few other teachers on the outskirts of Rome and walked along the oldest road in Rome known as the Appian Way. In addition, we visited the Catacombs of San Calisto. There are several Catacombs in Rome, and the one we visited was amazing. For centuries, Christians buried their dead in the enormous underground area. There are four levels and even still some remains are located there. At one time, six Popes were buried there. No photos are allowed at the Catacombs, so I have no visuals. We walked along the Appian Way and saw some ancient ruins.
Also along the Wappian Way was this restaurant where we had dinner.
This is a very old road marker that has "Via Appia" carved into it.
Tiramasu!
The restaurant where we ate had a BBQ! This is Pork Kebabs, grilled potatoes and salad. It was very yummy!
Tomorrow we have a 5 hour bus ride to Florence and some work time with our consultants to work on our lesson plans. The trip has just begun, with 3 more cemeteries to visit and related historic sites.
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