I was able to visit this cemetery with my dad in the late 80's the picture below shows him in the background. The cemetery is east of Anzio, 38 miles south of Rome. It is a very beautiful site and has interned 7,862 soldiers from the war.

The following was emailed to me by Dave Berry who found it on the Mark Bando's 101st Page. It seems that some terrorist had a plan to blow up the cemetery that is pictured above. Kind of shows the lack of honor and decency that these people have. No good rotten scum bags.

Targeting Cemeteries Shows Terror Effort Widening

By J. David Galland

The unconscionable malice committed against humanity by the al Qaeda
terrorists and their allies has risen to new levels of cruelty toward
American society. Terrorists have now targeted the symbols and honored legacy
of America's war dead.

State Department sources in Berlin have disclosed to DefenseWatch that
American military cemeteries and war memorials have become a target of choice
and opportunity for terrorists.

Having murdered thousands of American and foreign civilians on 9/11, it would
seem difficult to envision a lower blow that the terrorists might throw. But
today they regard the hallowed graves of Americans who gave the greatest
sacrifice during time of war as high-payoff targets, my sources warn.

Unfortunately, there is a brutal logic at work here: It is extremely
important for terrorist organizations and cells to choose their symbolic
targets well. Their aim is to achieve the highest level of notoriety that is
possible for the least amount of effort and assumable risk to them and their
mission completion.

Even those terrorists like al Qaeda, whose actions lead most of us to dismiss
them as "crazies" or "maniacal," do adhere to the cruel logic of terrorism:
Their target must always be one that gains the most publicity by the global
news media. What better a target, to emotionally enflame Americans, than to
desecrate and otherwise attack the memory of our war dead? None!

Italian officials discovered the targeting of American war memorials in
Europe after three men were arrested in Italy on Oct. 4, 2002. All three of
the men were Egyptian, and possessed both explosives and a map of the
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery. Nearly 7,800 American dead from World War II
are buried in that cemetery, including some of my own father's buddies and
comrades during the 5th Army's Italian campaign during World War II.

Even after the arrest of the three men, two of the entrances to the cemetery
were found to have been visibly marked as likely reference points, according
to the Associated Press. This development indicates that there are other
terrorists associated with the arrested suspects who are still at large.

Unlike military bases, the scores of U.S. and allied war memorials and
military cemeteries worldwide have scant physical security protections. In
particular, cemeteries do not have gates, guards or secure exclusionary
perimeters.

Our cemeteries were designed to serve as monuments and hallowed resting
grounds of great honor. It was envisioned that such shrines would hopefully
inspire us to reflect on the sacrifice that gave us our freedom at a ghastly
cost measured by man's cruelty to his fellow man and further serve to remind
us all that freedom is very perishable.

Alas, it is that symbolic value that the terrorists have now decided to
attack.

Administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, U.S. military
burial grounds are located worldwide, but most of these places of honor are
in Western Europe. They are located in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy. Tunisia is the location of one other
U.S. military resting place, as are Mexico and Panama. There are two such
cemeteries in the Philippines.

Officials say they have increased the level of awareness and security for
military cemeteries throughout Europe, but acknowledge that guarding such
sites calls for delicate finesse to avoid compromising the sanctity of the
memorials.

Carlo Rossi, Chief of Logistics for the American Battle Monuments Commission
office in Rome, admitted in a statement issued this week, "There's not much
you can do, it's an open area and anything that has to do with the U.S.A. is
a potential target." Noting that these are parks and not garrisons, with no
high security fences or enclosures, Rossi went on to explain that cemeteries
have fixed hours when they are open for visitors, and at closing time, the
staffs can only close a simple gate.

In Paris, a senior American Battle Memorial Commission official told
reporters that his office always keeps well informed and updated on alert
levels in countries where cemeteries are located. "We are members of the
embassy emergency action committee and go to their meetings whenever they're
called," said Walter Frankland, chief of staff for the Paris office. "We take
them very seriously."

At the U.S. military cemetery at Normandy, where over 9,000 American soldiers
rest in their long rows of graves on the bluffs above the costly beaches of
D-Day, superintendent Gene Dellinger admitted that all he and his can do is
be alert and be vigilant.

This latest threat warning provides a stern confirmation of the hard reality
of the ongoing terrorist threat and our war against it: No entity or person
associated with the United States or Americans themselves is not a viable
target. Sadly enough, this now includes our war memorials and military
cemeteries.

I would disagree with those who argue that al Qaeda and its allies have
shifted focus to our cemeteries because their capabilities have been degraded
and weakened. This is a logical deduction that does not pay heed to the
terrorist mentality.

Make no mistake: The new threat to our war memorials signifies a broadening
of the terrorists' target list. They want to attack these symbols precisely
because their destruction would drive an emotional stake through the hearts
of all freedom-loving Americans.

No good rotten scum bags indeed!! There are plenty of Americans who would like to drive a stake through their hearts. That is if they had one.

Sue

Sue,

I agree! That is very low.

Looks like we just dropped a bomb on one of the leaders of Al Qaeda. From the picture does not look like enough left of the car to put in a shoe box. One scum bag down.

Well, that article hit it on the nose: terrorism is not fanatics or crazies, but highly organized ideologues with a keen sense of publicity and an eccentric knowledge of America.

The latest thing I heard was that Al Qaeda was planning a suicide bombing on Pearl Harbor. That would have enormous symbolic impact on America (by virtue of the location) and defense impact (because of the submarine base).

War Cemeteries would have symbolic impact, but I'm not sure they would hit them, for a different reason...they're not high-profile.

Terrorism is theater. It needs the greatest audience. A bomb going off in a cemetery upends graves and wrecks horticulture. Not as frightening or impressive as blasting open a US Navy destroyer, shredding an embassy in a nation's capital...or blasting America's largest buildings into rubble.

Those targets also come with vast human price tags, as opposed to a cemetery. The bodies there are already dead. The World Trade Center and Pentagon were full of people. So were the hijacked airliners.

I think this is more of a rumor, designed to inflame the heartstrings. Like warnings that shopping malls are targets on Halloween.

Kiwiwriter,

I have also heard about Al Qaeda wanting to attack the memorial area of Pearl Harbor. I have been to the memorial many times. That certainly would have been a target that would have struck a cord with most Americans.

Jim

An attack like that would enrage Americans beyond even Al Qaeda's reckoning. There would be a reaction similar to the original attack on Pearl Harbor -- attacks on Arab-Americans and calls for their incarceration.

It would be a similar miscalculation to the original attack on Peral Harbor.

History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

Great Picture Jim! You should also read the book "Anzio" by Christopher Hibbert, published in 1967. It was the first book that I have read about Anzio/Nettuno and it is very good.

Actually, I believe General Ernest Harmon (CO 1st US Armoured Division at Anzio) has written his memories down as well. His book could be also an interesting source. And there is of course the book written by General Kesselring, the German commander in Italy.

General Lucas, CO of the 6th Corps at Anzio wrote also a diary, which is very interesting. Part of that diary was quoted in the book by Christopher Hibbert. Maybe the original diary of General Lucas is in the National Archives in Washington?

The following book might be interesting about the Anzio battle:

"History of the Irish Guards" by Patrick Forbes, written in 1956 I believe. This book is about all the Irish Guards battalions during WWII, including the Irish Guards at Anzio (1st Infantry Division). Colonel Freeman (3rd Battalion, 504 PIR) is mentioned several times in the book. The book contains a lot of detailed maps of Anzio and some 100 pages are about the Irish Guards at Anzio.

I have also found the names of two books about the 3rd US Infantry Division and 1st US Armoured Division (both books are also available in the Central Library in Arnhem.

I will keep you posted on more info about Anzio.

P.S. The book "Anzio" by Christopher Hibbert might be revealing as well, although the 504th isn't much mentioned in the book. It is however a good source about the battle at Anzio from a broader viewpoint (German and allied)

Harmon has a book, and I don't recall its name.

Another good book on Anzio is Carlo D'Este's "Fatal Decision," which covers just about everything possible about the battle, including the fates of the two "Anzio Annie" German railroad guns. Robert was destroyed and Leopold is now at the Army Museum in Aberdeen.

The US Army Official History also covers it well.