SALERNO 1943 The aviators, the stories, the findings of Operation Avalanche

The book, written by Matteo Pierro with the collaboration of Luigi Fortunato and Pierpaolo Irpino and published by D Amico Editore, is entitled "SALERNO 1943, Gli aviatori, le storie, i ritrovamenti dell'Operazione Avalanche". It consists of 184 pages and is illustrated with about a hundred black and white photos. From the presentation: The purpose of the volume is to present the activities of the volunteers of the Salerno 1943 association. The association was founded in 2007 by a group of friends passionate about local history. The Association is non-profit, apolitical, non-partisan and repudiates war as a means of resolving disputes between peoples. The statutory purposes are the collection, cataloguing, conservation, restoration and sharing of all military and civil material relating to the Second World War, concerning not only Salerno and its province but also Campania and the surrounding regions. Far from the desire to glorify war, Salerno 1943 intends to make new generations aware that war means pain and death. Just think of the families of those who lost their lives, the anxiety that mothers and fathers, wives, children, brothers and sisters felt seeing their loved ones leave and the torment they had to endure when they learned that many of them would never return. The members hope, by reconstructing the stories of so many young lives broken by the war, to perpetuate the memory of the victims and remind new generations of those unfortunate years so that similar events never happen again. The association also works to preserve the memory of aviators of any nationality who crashed in southern Italy during the years of the Second World War by tracking, identifying and reconstructing the history of their downings. Over the years, the recovered material has been exhibited at organizations, institutions, schools and other public places. On each occasion, admission to the exhibitions has always been free. The volunteers were happy to donate their time and cover the necessary expenses so that no one had to pay a cent to visit them. Thousands of people, including many school children, visited the displays and expressed their appreciation. The relics made a particular impression because they were original objects and not crude imitations, because they were closely linked to the history of the area and not purchased who knows where and, finally, because they often still bear clearly visible signs of battle in the form of holes and gashes caused by bullets and shrapnel. In March 2013, the association received an important recognition from the section of the United States Department of Defense, the Defense Prisoner of War - Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), which is responsible for tracking down US soldiers missing in war. The volunteers actively collaborated in the search for the remains of two American airmen who crashed in the Salerno area and became the DPMO's contact for the search for other missing persons in southern Italy. The book contains the stories of the 25 downings identified so far in the Salerno area, in Irpinia and in other regions by the members of Salerno 1943, who, because of the many air finds, have become known as the Salerno Air Finders. The second part of the work describes the findings of the remains of two German soldiers abandoned in anonymous trenches for almost 70 years and there are some considerations relating to the objects found on the battlefield of Operation Avalanche. In the majority of cases, from these findings it is impossible to trace the owner of the object. Sometimes, however, a handwritten name on the recovered relic or a serial number allow the object to be associated with a specific person and therefore allow its history to be reconstructed completely or partially. Often the end of these events is tragic, other times not. In some cases, the volunteers of the association have had the satisfaction of returning the objects to their old owners or to their families. BOOK INDEX Introduction Chapter 1 B-17F bomber 42-5837 from San Cipriano Picentino Chapter 2 Wellington X LP127-P bomber from Laviano Chapter 3 Wellington LN385 bomber from Postiglione Chapter 4 Spitfire JF 879 fighter from Mercogliano Chapter 5 A-26 fighter-bomber from Cava dei Tirreni Chapter 6 P-38 Lighting fighter from Sessa Cilento Chapter 7 B-25 Mitchell bomber 41-30407 from Volturara Irpina Chapter 8 Supermarine Seafire fighter from Pellezzano Chapter 9 A-36A Apache fighter-bomber 42-83976 from Acerno Chapter 10 B-24 Liberator bomber 41-23801 from Acerno Chapter 11 B-24 Liberator bomber 11593 from Lioni Chapter 12 Macchi MC 202 fighter Chapter 13 B-24 Liberator bomber 40236 from Pietragalla Chapter 14 DO 217 bomber from Solofra Chapter 15 P-38 Lighting fighter from Fisciano Chapter 16 P-40 Warhawk fighter from Laviano Chapter 17 C-47 Dakota transport plane 43-15153 from Summonte Chapter 18 B-25 Mitchell bomber 41-29775 from Volturara Irpina Chapter 19 B-25 Mitchell bomber 42-32466 from Pratola Serra Chapter 20 Luftwaffe aircraft from Montemarano Chapter 21 Bf 109 and Fw 190 fighter from Montesano sulla Marcellana Chapter 22 Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter from Acerno Chapter 23 Focke Wulf 190 fighter from Salerno Chapter 24 Luftwaffe of Castelcivita Chapter 25 P-47 Thunderbolt fighter of Giffoni Valle Piana APPENDIX Chapter 26 The paratroopers of the 509 PIR and Operation Avalanche Chapter 27 The story of Wilhelm Heschnauer Chapter 28 Religiosity and superstition among the soldiers of Avalanche Chapter 29 Traces of the bombings on Salerno Chapter 30 The Wehrmacht machine gunner with serial number 657 Chapter 31 Private Herrmann and his mess tin Chapter 32 The dog tag of Private Falce Chapter 33 The dog tag of Private Comelli Chapter 34 The dog tag of Private Vegso Chapter 35 The dog tag of the paratrooper Gray Chapter 36 The shaving set of Private Roth. Chapter 37 The spoons of Soldiers West and Apps. Chapter 38 Captain Dillon's Compass Chapter 39 Private Sturdy's Cutlery Chapter 40 The Duke of Wellington's Helmet If you purchase other items from us, we will try to amortize the shipping costs in the most convenient way for you. In many cases, we are able to ship the second and subsequent items purchased without additional postage. Please visit our other auctions or request a list of available titles, specifying the subjects you are interested in. We also invite you to check our feedback. Our library has over 40,000 titles on hundreds of subjects. We therefore invite you to visit our other auctions or request a list of what is available on the subjects you are interested in. Our shop is located in Salerno and is open to the public. We send worlwide.