Day 5

Calabria and our beautiful hotel in Morano Calabro.

The ferry crosses the Straits of Messina and approaches Villa San Giovanni on the Mainland.

I turn to look back one more time at Sicily. The so-called "Race To Messina" may have been the product of a personal rivalry between Patton and Montgomery but I believe that it reflected the general mistrust and unfamiliarity between the British and Americans who had to learn to fight together as "Allies." The British campaigns however, are beyond the scope of our tour which concentrates on the American battlefields. In the 38 days of brutal fighting on Sicily the American Soldier learned his task well. The 1st Division went to England and landed at Normandy, the 3rd and the 45th would fight in Italy and then land in southern France, as would the Airborne and Ranger units - all would celebrate VE day in Germany. The U.S. Army lost over 2,200 dead and about 6,000 wounded in the capture of Sicily and many more were felled by malaria, dysentery and heat-related illnesses that had no names in 1943. The greatest homage that can be paid to these troops is that today, no foreign nation's flag flies over Sicily. The determination of their future is strictly a "Sicilian Thing."

At a rest stop on the way to Morano Calabro, I met an Calabrese named Sal - I think his full name was Sal Amander.

A rather friendly and photogenic fellow once he got to know me.

My room in the Hotel Villa San Domenico in Morano Calabro in the mountains.

The Hotel was built around 1700 and is family-owned. The owner is the Chef and what an incredible spread he prepared for us that evening. I never had even a mediocre meal in Italy and this was no exception.

	The ferry crosses the Straits of Messina and approaches Villa San Giovanni on the Mainland.
	I turn to look back one more time at Sicily. The so-called "Race To Messina" may have been the product of a personal rivalry between Patton and Montgomery but I believe that it reflected the general mistrust and unfamiliarity between the British and Americans who had to learn to fight together as "Allies." The British campaigns however, are beyond the scope of our tour which concentrates on the American battlefields. In the 38 days of brutal fighting on Sicily the American Soldier learned his task well. The 1st Division went to England and landed at Normandy, the 3rd and the 45th would fight in Italy and then land in southern France, as would the Airborne and Ranger units - all would celebrate VE day in Germany. The U.S. Army lost over 2,200 dead and about 6,000 wounded in the capture of Sicily and many more were felled by malaria, dysentery and heat-related illnesses that had no names in 1943. The greatest homage that can be paid to these troops is that today, no foreign nation's flag flies over Sicily. The determination of their future is strictly a "Sicilian Thing."
	At a rest stop on the way to Morano Calabro, I met an Calabrese named Sal - I think his full name was Sal Amander.
	A rather friendly and photogenic fellow once he got to know me.
	My room in the Hotel Villa San Domenico in Morano Calabro in the mountains.
	The Hotel was built around 1700 and is family-owned. The owner is the Chef and what an incredible spread he prepared for us that evening. I never had even a mediocre meal in Italy and this was no exception.