In about an hour I am going to the Camp Mabry Army Muesuem here in Austin Texas. I play racquetball everyday from 5.30 am to about 7,00am The guys I play with are the father of An NFL qb, 4 former Air force pilots that all served in Vietnam and retired here in Austin A veterans administrator-from the VA hospital and a merchandise salesman. My father served during WW 2 in General Clarks 5th Army as an AMG officer from 1944 to 1946. Prior to that he was a teacher at Teddy Roosevelt HS teaching Italian and Spanish in the Bronx He was born in Italy and came to America at the age of 5. The only person in his Bronx neighborhood to go to college Graduated Manhattan College with honors and became a teacher . When the war broke out in 1941 he was drafted and sent to officers training school married my mother on Aug 22 1941 and the next day was on a boat to North Africa . AMG was American Military Government. Because he spoke fluent Italian with no dialect he was in command of a unit of 15-20 US soldiers that once Sicily and the Italian were invaded he was a part of AMG that as the Germans retreated from Italians cities his job was to go to those cities Establish a democracy arrest the Italian Facists and restore order thru first aid and food etc John Hersey wrote a book that won the Pulitzer Prize A Bell for Adono. Although Hersey followed an AMG officer through out his assignment my father did know the officer he followed. Its a make believe story and was made into a movie .anyway let me get back to today
My father was near Monte Cassino when the Germans after a long battle finally retreated . About 20 miles east of Cassini there was a river called the rapido. Gen Clark under advisement not to cross decided to take pressure of the ill fated anzio invasion where the invasion force was trapped on the beach and flank the Germans It was an ill advised crossing. The Germans controlled the rapido ,had the high ground and had one side of the river heavily defended .. with Artillery and machine guns all a long the banks of the river. Clark under advisement ignored everyone and made a frontal assault to cross the river . Not sure of the head count but over 300-400 Texans crossed the ill fated river and were massacred The ones that made it were stuck on the wrong side and were killed of taken as prisoners I remember my father saying more Texas infantry died at the Rapido they at the Alamo. My father was still alive when my daughter decided to go to U Texas in Austin He said there was a memorial in Texas and he thought it was in Austin honoring the texas soldiers that died at Rapido. So someone told me at camp Mabry there is a plaque or something honoring all those soldiers killed there. So my racquetball boys picked today to visit the Muesuem ...we are going to the PX and eat lunch at the Army base..
I am going to find the curator and ask him have you ever heard of the Rapido River blunder Will come back and report.. I hope he doesn't look at and say the " what river" When the war was over a congressional committee was formed to investigate Gen Clarks mistake and one of his assistants who I believe was a texan who advised him not to attack found Clark wrong but no one wanted to go after an American General post war. My father was not a rapido and was 20 miles south of Cassini liberating a village but knew many soldiers that were there and everyone soldier in Italy knew many died for no reason anyway gotta run hopefully someone at Mabry knows something about the tragedy at the Rapido
sorry this is boring for some but growing up and seeing the rapido when I was 11 or 12 and having my father tell these stories .. wish he was alive to ask him many more questions later
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