Above: The Florence American Cemetery is located outside Florance Italy. Close to 4,400 U.S. soldiers are buried there.
Honoring American soldiers in Italy
Story and Photos | Eileen Jevis
Staff writer Eileen Jevis recently toured several cities in Italy and is sharing with us her moving experience at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial site.
By Eileen Jevis, staff writer
The United States has been celebrating Veterans Day since 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed Armistice Day to honor all American veterans. The holiday pays tribute to Americans who lost their lives at war and to honor our active-duty military. Visiting cemeteries, attending parades and flying our nation’s flag are a few ways we honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country and those who continue to defend our freedom.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, explains the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day:
Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country. While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty.
Veterans Day ceremonies around the nation are held on Veterans Day itself. The National Cemetery Administration reports that nearly 5.3 million people — including four million veterans from the Revolutionary War to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are honored with a burial in a VA National Cemetery. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states that approximately 124,000 World Wars I and II veterans are buried in 17 countries around the world. As Americans, we tend to forget those who are buried on foreign soil. Their faraway gravestones are not easily visited.
World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated total of 70 to 85 million people perished, or about 3% of the estimated global population of 2.3 billion (according to historical estimates of world population from the U.S. Census Bureau).
The Normandy American Cemetery in France contains the graves of nearly 9,400 war dead and about 1,600 names on the Walls of the Missing.
Just outside Florence, Italy, close to 4,400 U.S. soldiers are buried in the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial site. Most died in fighting after the capture of Rome in June 1944. I recently took a trip with a small tour company to Northern Italy. Our tour group had the opportunity to visit the site to honor and remember those whose remains never returned home. The experience was moving, reflective and powerful. There was silence among my fellow travelers as we walked the grounds and observed a ceremony to honor the 80th anniversary of the Northern Italian Campaign during World War II.
The American Battle Monuments Commission manages the beautiful grounds. The Florence American Cemetery website describes what the 70 acres of land encompasses. Above the graves, on the topmost of three broad terraces, stands a memorial marked by a tall pylon surmounted by a large, sculptured figure. The memorial has two open courts, joined by the Tablets of the Missing upon which are inscribed 1,409 names. The grounds also hold a chapel and marble operations maps that record the achievements of the American armed forces in this region.
Lucian Adams, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who served in World War II was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1944 for his service to our country. He also earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his heroic actions in Italy. Adams was quoted as saying, “The legacy of brave men and women who have fought and died for their country is the freedom we enjoy as Americans.” It is those freedoms we often take for granted.
It’s been several weeks since I returned home from a wonderful trip to a country I have never before visited. I was struck by so much of its history, art, architecture, the unimaginable feats of engineering of Cathedrals, the 17-foot-high sculpture of Michelangelo’s David, (which weighs five tons) and so much more. It was a whirlwind of traveling from city to city, touring historic locations, navigating narrow, cobblestone streets and offering up a prayer or two as our driver took hairpin turns on roads high in the mountains.
But it is the visit to the American Florence Cemetery that remains in my mind and heart. So, on this Veterans Day, let us pause to honor and remember all members of the military on U.S. and foreign soil who are protecting and defending us. Let us show our appreciation for the sacrifices of all who have served and continue to serve so that we, as Americans, can live free.
By wputmon , thecatholicsun.com , Local ,
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2024-10-31 05:36:00 , The Catholic Sun , On foreign soil | The Catholic Sun