On Monday Lee handed me a package which was returned to me via the US mail. It was a copy of No Bridge Too Far, and on the front of the package the post office checked "deceased". A hell of a way to find out someone is gone...
So I have to say farewell to a fine engineer from my dad's unit, Ed Stephens. I never got to meet him, but talked with him on the phone a few times. A very sweet man. His wife was a great gal too. They were always so happy to hear from me.
I was re-reading an article about Salerno (we had talked about it before here and the first post is quoted below) and it mentioned the end of the Sicilian campaign was August 17th. Just thought I would bring it up and once again pay homage to those who fought through this and other campaigns in the oft-neglected Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
Friends,
This is a good article concerning lessons learned from the Salerno landings. It was written right after the war and published in the Marine Corps Gazette by Gen H. M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith. It's amazing to me how little the average Joe knows about the war in the Med during WWII. This article gives a clear indication how close this invasion came to failure in the days after the initial landings. Even the disastrous Operation Neptune landings (at least at Omaha Beach) were not in question after the first day. Three cheers to you who were there! You were not done any favors by the powers that be that planned these invasions. It was the fortitude and resourcefulness of the individual soldier/Marine that won the war. The more I learn about WWII, the more I am appalled by the decisions of the upper echelons of leadership.
