Italy

 

November 28, 1943 Card sent from dad to his family V--Mail

 
 

November 28, 1943 Card sent from a friend to my dad's family. V--Mail

 

Telegram from my dad to his family.
December 6, 1943

Right: From my dad's uniform. Below and below right: Newspaper clippings

 

Newspaper clipping pasted in scrapbook.

Wounded in Cassino Italy on December 8, 1943.

Discrepancy. The following is a citation from the document Michigan Casualities, Vol. 2. Part 1. World War 1939. Michigan casualities. December 7, 1943-December 6, 1944, page 2-143:

Corgiat, Domenic M. Pvt. Detroit

Wounded 1-25-44* (Medit)

(Note: I'm trying to find out what the * means. Maybe it means an estimated date.)

 

V--Mail, Enlarged 150% 
 
 

"Slightly wounded" was classified as 50% disability.

From what my dad described, the previous newspaper picture appears to be very much like the place where he was wounded.  (This picture/scrapbook was found after he died.)   I recall him saying that after he was hit he dragged himself to a first aid station, which that was located in a church.   I think he said that the guys who were with him didn't survive.  Also, I remember him saying that life after his injury was a bonus, as his didn't think that he would survive W.W.II. 
 
 

My dad was one of the "lucky" ones.

---

Percy Jones Hospital, Battle Creek, Michigan
 

March 29, 1943 My dad is sent to Percy Jones Hospital for rehabilitation. For about 1 year, while undergoing rehabilitation, my dad worked in the hospital's rehabilitation program as an Instructor for Arts and Crafts.

 
 

To read contents click here.

 

 
 

 War Load Bond certificate in honor of my dad.

 

Some Dates in History

Dec. 6, 1943	Dad sends holiday greetings V-Mail to family from Italy, "ALL WELL AND SAFE"
Dec. 8, 1943	Dad is wounded in Cassino Italy (to the best of our knowledge).  Later his wounds were determined to be a 50% disability.
Jan. 22, 1944	The first wave of Allied troops land at Anzio, Italy, which was countered strongly by the Germans and fierce fighting raged through the bitter winter in the swamps.  The scope of death was staggering.  Today, the graves of 7,862 who died in the Italian campaign, including 408 unknowns, stretch far into the distance in gently curving arcs.  Inside a chapel are inscribed the names of more than 3,000 others still missing.  For an article about the ceremony commemorating the Allies' liberation of Italy in W.W.II 50 years later, please click here.
March 29, 1944	Dad is transferred to Percy Jones Hospital, Battle Creek, Michigan, where he undergoes rehabilitation for about a year.
May 1, 1944	The final assault on the Gustav Line begins.  Finally, the Allies break free of their beachhead and enter Rome on June 4, 1944.  The triumph was hardly noticed because D-Day came two days later.
June 6, 1944	D-Day - Allies enter France at Normandy.