The eternal city today, tourists marching (or segwaying) through the Piazza del Popolo.

greetz,brummbar

Piazza del Popolo, Rome today

On the old Via Cassia and visible from the 4-Coursie motorway from Florence to Siena, the 70 acre US WW II Cemetery on the banks of the river Greve is framed by the beautiful trees and hills of Chianti.   It contains 4,402 headstones guarding the remains of some of the young American soldiers who fell in the WW II battles after the fall of Rome, and tablets with the names of a further 1409 who rest in unknown places.  A very moving reminder of the terrible toll of war.  How terrible for Diego di Francesco that the war in Italy ended on 2 May 1945, just ten days after his death.

May they rest in peace.

Brummbar

Toll of war

On Langdorp cemetery lie 8 Commonwealth graves,
F/S D.J.Ashby-Peckham
Sgt R.P.Goward
Sgt A.E.Gurney
Sgt E.D.Hart
F/O A.R.Helvard
Sgt T.R.Lunn
Sgt P.D.McArdle
P/O W.G.Shillinglaw
On june 22 1943 at 0.14 the crew started from Downham Market (Great-Britain)in Stirling  KK712.Their mission was bombing the town of Krefeld in Germany.Their aircraft was shot down above Langdorp by the Bf110 nightfighter of Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of StabII/NJG1.The Stirling crashed at 1.30 am killing all.It was Major Schnaufer 13th kill.The report from radarstation 'Meise',situated at Werchter-Tremelo  that led the Bf 110 to its victim reads:'The wreckage lies 3km nord-east from Aarschot,mapcoördinates NK 31 B.Enemy crewmembers,7(in fact they were 8) all killed in the crash.Due to fire the Short Stirling is totally destroyed.Tail and tailturret lie 1500m from the rest of the wreckage...'
The exact place of the crash lies now in the garden of the family Vandenbosch.They gave permission to place a memorial plaque in their garden.

May they rest in peace.