thedrifter
07-10-07, 06:23 AM
Vet recalls Sicilian invasion
By Michael Randall
Times Herald-Record
July 10, 2007
Town of Newburgh — Almost a year before D-Day, there was Sicily.
It was the first large-scale Allied amphibious landing of World War II, the first attack on open beaches, and, at least in the first wave, more divisions were involved than at the invasion of Normandy in France a year later.
And Alfred D'Arco of Newburgh, now 85, was there, as a corporal in the 443rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. That was 64 years ago today.
"We were a bastard outfit — not part of any division," he said. They got passed around as needed; at the time of the Sicily invasion they were attached to the 3rd Infantry Division.
And so, after taking part in the Tunisian campaign in North Africa, where he manned a big gun, Cpl. D'Arco found himself on a boat bound for Sicily.
As in Normandy, weather almost put off the invasion.
"It was real stormy the night before," D'Arco said. "But when we were ready for the landing, it cleared up. It was like God himself just calmed the seas we were in."
The enemy resistance at Sicily was less than at Normandy, and D'Arco, now assigned as a major's driver, was toward the rear, away from the heaviest fighting. But he had a face-to-face encounter with someone as terrifying as any enemy fire — Gen. George S. Patton.
The weather was hot from the sirocco winds, and D'Arco recalls, "Every time I could take my helmet off, I would."
But one day, while assigned to MP duty — directing traffic — D'Arco saw a Jeep approaching. He counted: one, two, three stars on the passenger's uniform. It was Old Blood and Guts himself. When the Jeep stopped, D'Arco saluted. Patton was not happy.
"—-damn you, soldier, where is your helmet?" Patton bellowed. When D'Arco told the general it was in a nearby Jeep, Patton made it clear he wanted to see it on his head where it belonged next time he came through. But D'Arco never saw Patton again.
The Sicilian invasion also had political implications. Its success was the last straw for Italy's Fascist grand council, which withdrew its support for dictator Benito Mussolini and his policies. King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed him from office and had him arrested.
D'Arco almost didn't make it to the war. A bout of double pneumonia with pleurisy at the age of 9 left him with a heart murmur that nearly kept him out of the service.
Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war, D'Arco went to volunteer.
Marines? Rejected.
Navy? Rejected.
Coast Guard? Rejected.
Army? Accepted.
"The Army took anybody that could crawl," D'Arco quipped.
The Invasion of Sicily
Nickname: Operation Husky
Troops: 160,000 from the U.S., Great Britain and Canada
Vehicles: 14,000
Tanks: 600
Guns: 1,800
Allies killed: 5,520
Allies wounded; 18,514
Time frame: July 10-Aug. 17, 1943
From various sources
Ellie
By Michael Randall
Times Herald-Record
July 10, 2007
Town of Newburgh — Almost a year before D-Day, there was Sicily.
It was the first large-scale Allied amphibious landing of World War II, the first attack on open beaches, and, at least in the first wave, more divisions were involved than at the invasion of Normandy in France a year later.
And Alfred D'Arco of Newburgh, now 85, was there, as a corporal in the 443rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. That was 64 years ago today.
"We were a bastard outfit — not part of any division," he said. They got passed around as needed; at the time of the Sicily invasion they were attached to the 3rd Infantry Division.
And so, after taking part in the Tunisian campaign in North Africa, where he manned a big gun, Cpl. D'Arco found himself on a boat bound for Sicily.
As in Normandy, weather almost put off the invasion.
"It was real stormy the night before," D'Arco said. "But when we were ready for the landing, it cleared up. It was like God himself just calmed the seas we were in."
The enemy resistance at Sicily was less than at Normandy, and D'Arco, now assigned as a major's driver, was toward the rear, away from the heaviest fighting. But he had a face-to-face encounter with someone as terrifying as any enemy fire — Gen. George S. Patton.
The weather was hot from the sirocco winds, and D'Arco recalls, "Every time I could take my helmet off, I would."
But one day, while assigned to MP duty — directing traffic — D'Arco saw a Jeep approaching. He counted: one, two, three stars on the passenger's uniform. It was Old Blood and Guts himself. When the Jeep stopped, D'Arco saluted. Patton was not happy.
"—-damn you, soldier, where is your helmet?" Patton bellowed. When D'Arco told the general it was in a nearby Jeep, Patton made it clear he wanted to see it on his head where it belonged next time he came through. But D'Arco never saw Patton again.
The Sicilian invasion also had political implications. Its success was the last straw for Italy's Fascist grand council, which withdrew its support for dictator Benito Mussolini and his policies. King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed him from office and had him arrested.
D'Arco almost didn't make it to the war. A bout of double pneumonia with pleurisy at the age of 9 left him with a heart murmur that nearly kept him out of the service.
Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war, D'Arco went to volunteer.
Marines? Rejected.
Navy? Rejected.
Coast Guard? Rejected.
Army? Accepted.
"The Army took anybody that could crawl," D'Arco quipped.
The Invasion of Sicily
Nickname: Operation Husky
Troops: 160,000 from the U.S., Great Britain and Canada
Vehicles: 14,000
Tanks: 600
Guns: 1,800
Allies killed: 5,520
Allies wounded; 18,514
Time frame: July 10-Aug. 17, 1943
From various sources
Ellie