The Volturno River, Mignano Pass,and San Pietro Infine

It was hard to leave beautiful Sorrento, but I hummed Back to Sorrento as we left…

Today we traveled to several sites were dad’s unit fought. My brothers and sister know that dad often talks of the Volturno River crossing. We passed over that river on our way to the Mignano Pass and Mount Lungo.  This was the situation as described in the 601 history:

…the same night one of  A Company’s Destroyers fell of the pontoon bridge and drowned all but one of its crew… the remainder of the battalion got across after a German air raid that missed the bridge but did some damage to the tightly jammed convoys on the road…the Volturno River Crossing casualties were fairly heavy. Some of them were the result of very tough luck but to balance that, many of the escapes from death or injury were little short of miraculous.

Today the Volturno is a small, slow moving river but in 1943 it posed a formidable obstacle to the 601 as they attempted to get to Monte Cassino.

The MIgnano Pass is a gap in the mountain range with hairpin turns. On either side are Mount Lungo and Mount Rotundo where the enemy was firmly entrenched, as described in the passage below. It is clear that the soldiers attempting to get through the pass were in grave danger. Ron, our historian and guide had maps to show us the strategy behind this action. He could show me where the 3^rd Division and the 601 would have been engaged. Again, here is the passage from the 601 history:

Recon had another stiff fight near Pietramelara. The gun companies moved up to Mignano to fire on Lungo and Rotundo. It rained all day, every day, and not only rain but bombs, mortars, heavy artillery, tank fire, twenty millimeters, and various and sundry other little items of German manufacture. The Destroyers ran into a great Kraut minefield near Mignano and one 751^st Tank was blow to smithereens.. The Kraut was dug into the rock in the mountains and seemed ready to remain for the duration.

Today there is a museum, garden and memorial to the action here. Featured prominently in the garden is a tank destroyer along with other tributes to the men who fought here. There is also a cemetery where Italian casualties are buried. This is significant because this is the first place Italian troops engaged against the Germans after the Italian surrender.

We stopped along the way for a box lunch. One of the men on the trip commented that dad must have had many a meal along the roadside and enjoyed the respite. Knowing dad, he was saying his prayers during that respite.

Next stop was the town of San Pietro Infine. This is an amazing place! We spent a couple of hours exploring the “town” and caves surrounding it. In short, this town sat on a hillside above the road to Cassino. The Germans had a stronghold there and the allies wanted it. The townspeople knew trouble was coming so some evacuated and others dug caves in the soft rock surrounding the village. When the allies started bombing, 500 townsfolk escaped to the caves where they remained for the 10 continuous days of bombing. During the time in the caves a baby was born and his parents named him Roosevelt! Roosevelt now lives in a nearby village. When the 10 days of bombing were over the town was complete rubble. The people opted not to rebuild but rather left the rubble and rebuilt a new village not far away. Several years ago some folks realized the historical significance of the bombed village and started to make it accessible to visitors. In 1944, after the allies made it to Rome, Lt. Col. Frank Capra suggested that John Huston, then serving on his staff, record what happened in San Pietro. We were able to view a 20-minute piece of the resulting 3 hour-long film.

Our last stop was at the Rapido River where the Texas 36^th Infantry Division was ordered to make a “Picket’s Charge” type assault on San Angelo. It was a misguided disaster that resulted in death to those who attempted to make the run.

Above: Mount Lungo

Below: Mount Rotundo

Dad's unit was in the mountains near Mount Rotundo trying to knock out the enemy that was attacking the troops trying to go through the gap below.

Above: The tank destroyer at the Mount Lungo Memorial

Below: Stopping for lunch along the road. 

Here's what the restaurant packed in our bag lunch: 3 sandwiches, 2 hard boiled eggs, a banana, an individual lattice topped peach pie, a small bottle of grapefruit juice and 2 bottles of water!!

Above: Larry at the entrance to one of the many hand-dug caves in San Pietro Infine

Below: The bombed out church. Several years ago it wasn't visible because of the overgrowth of brush and vines.

This was a powerful and very emotional day.