Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
1:44 | Mary D'Amico shares a memory during Christmas time in Cassino, Italy. Mary and her family had been hiding out in the woods to stay clear of German soldiers after the surrender to the Allies.
Keywords : Battle of Monte Cassino Cassino Italy Mussolini
Mary D'Amico reflects on the difficult and dangerous conditions for a 10 year-old Cassino, Italy citizen under the rule of Mussolini during WWII. Her family lived in town, but took shelter after the bombing in her family farmhouse.
Mary D'Amico recalls the attitudes of the German soldiers in Cassino, Italy immediately after they surrendered to the Allies. She recalls a particular deadly incident.
Mary D'Amico discusses the changing attitudes of the German soldiers in Cassino, Italy once the Americans seized control of the region over the Germans. She explains how they had to escape to the hills and build their own shelter to survive.
Mary D'Amico reflects on times she and her family were hiding in the hills near Cassino, Italy when the Americans were bombing German troops during the Battle of Monte Cassino. She reacts to an encounter she and her English speaking father had.
Civilian Mary D'Amico talks about what the town of Cassino, Italy was like after the bombing was over and the Americans had successfully cut off the German supply road between Rome and Naples.
Even after the Battle of Monte Cassino was over, the town was still a very dangerous place to live. Mary D'Amico was a young teenager at the time but remembers all of the post-war horrors and dangers of living in a recent combat zone.
Mary D'Amico who was 10 and 11 years old during the end of the war remembers the mental strength of her father during the difficult time during and after the Battle of Monte Cassino. Her sister was also suffering from typhoid fever for several weeks.
