Michael Paul ABRUSCATO
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Source : jeffd1121
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NUMBER OF SERVICE | 31466669 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
AGE | 26 yo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 7 November 1918 New York, New York County (Manhattan), NEW YORK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
ENLISTMENT STATE | CONNECTICUT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAMILY | Married | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
RANK | Private | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
FONCTION | Infantry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | Skilled occupations in the manufacture of miscellaneous products | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 6 May 1943 Fort Devens MASSACHUSETTS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMPANY | Company | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
REGIMENT | 168th Infantry Regiment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
DIVISION | 34th Infantry Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 18 April 1945 |
Source : jeffd1121
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ATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
PLACE OF DEATH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CEMETERY TEMPORARY |
CEMTERY TEMPORARY of -- N°--
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CEMETERY |
FLORENCE AMERICAN CEMETERY and MEMORIAL of Florence, Toscana, ITALY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
GRAVE |
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DECORATION |
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STORY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The campaign for North Africa had taken six months and many lives, but it was essential in order to invade Italy. Sicily was the stepping-stone. The 34th was assigned to set up staging camps for the assaulting Allies, who pushed the Italian and German troops out of Sicily in July and August 1943. The success of the Sicilian invasion prompted the Italian government to drop out of the war, and Italy signed an armistice on the same day that the invasion of Italy was launched from Sicily September 3, 1943. The 34th was designated as a reserve force for the invasion, but its 151st Field Artillery Battalion was temporarily detached to help the 36th Division establish a beachhead at Salerno. The Germans had launched a bewildering nighttime counter-attack on the beachhead just as the 151st was landing, but with sheer grit and courage, the artillerymen stopped it cold. The Chief-of-Staff for the 36th later commented: "The beachhead would have been destroyed had it not been for the early arrival of the 151st." The 34th, now part of General Mark Clark's 5th Army, arrived at Salerno a few weeks later. From there it advanced slowly northward through mountainous terrain, freezing wet weather, and the turbulent Volturno River, capturing Montemilleto and Benevento in the process. The objective was to capture the "Gustav Line," a formidable chain of German defensive positions, which spanned the entire Italian peninsula above Naples. Fighting along the route was as hard and unforgiving as ever to face an army, but the Germans were gradually pushed back as, one by one, the strategic objectives were taken: Monte Pantano, San Vittore, Monte Chiaia, Monte Trocchio, the Rapido River. Bitter hand-to-hand combat was often needed to root the enemy out of his holes in the mountains, and the men frequently fought in regions, which could only be supplied by animal pack trains. Then came the long, grim assault on Monte Cassino, the most heavily fortified keystone of the Gustav Line. The division attacked the network of hills near Cassino and attempted to storm the ancient abbey itself, but the Germans defied all attempts to wrest control of it. In the brutal winter fighting of 1943-44, the Red Bull lost thousands of its men. Finally relieved in mid-February and given a month's rest, the 34th was sent into action again in March—this time to Anzio. Allied commanders had decided to by-pass the Gustav Line and establish a narrow beachhead at Anzio, but powerful German attacks were preventing Allied forces from moving inland. The division's breakout finally came May 23, followed by the drive on Rome. Men of the l35th Regiment were among the first to enter the city on June 4, 1944, and mopped up snipers that evening in the vicinity of the Coliseum. The 133rd Regiment, in the meantime, was taking the vital port of Civitavecchia northwest of Rome. Elsewhere, off the coast of Normandy, Allies were about to invade France. Germany was now defending itself on three fronts. After Rome, the division continued its drive up the boot of Italy through heavily entrenched German positions. Resistance was dogged but declining in strength as the 34th rooted Germans out of Belvedere, San Vincenzo, Cecina, Rosignano, Leghorn, and Pisa, among others. Then came the Arno River, the Gothic Line along the Apennines, and finally a bold campaign for the Po River Valley, which contained 80 percent of Italy's war industries. The final offensive came in April 1945. The German retreat become a rout as their supplies ran out, and on May 2, 1945, the remnants of the LXXV German Corps, totaling over 40,000 men, surrendered to the Red Bulls near Milan (ironically, the surrendered troops included the 34th German Division). The war in Europe came to an end a few days later, with some elements of the division on the borders of France and Switzerland. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
34th INFANTRY DIVISION"Red Bull"
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SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Findagrave.com - Aad.archives.gov - Abmc.gov - 34ida.org |
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PROGRAMMER | Henri, Garrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud |