Palermo: Gen. Patton and WW2

Here's one more thing to add about Sicily and Palermo: Not only did Sicilians come to America, but Americans once went to Sicily. In this case it was between 12 July and 17 August, 1943 in what was called Operation Husky. The British 8th Army under Bernard Montgomery and the US 7th Army under the famous Gen. George S. Patton invaded the island and drove out the Nazis.

Although the Itlalian Army was present and did some fighting, it was clear that the average Italian soldier, and certainly the vast majority of civilians, did not like the Germans and did like the Allies; especially they loved the Americans. As a result large numbers of Italian troops quickly surrended to Patton's Army, and Gen. Patton was warmly welcomed as a liberating hero in the streets of Palermo. I am not certain how many US soldiers from New Orleans were present in this operation, if any. That, of course, is a detailed research question. A good source of information on the invasion of Sicily would be the National World War ll Museum in New Orleans. (The museum began as the D-Day Museum and has grown over time. See http://www.ddaymuseum.org/)

After taking Palermo (which, by the way, Patton did on his own without orders), the general drove to the Straits of Messina trying to trap the Nazi Army on the island of Sicily. But the Germans escaped and went to mainland Italy where they would fight again until the war's end.

In the photos above we see a team of US soldiers with a mortar as they fire on German positions near Palermo. The next photo shows Gen. Montgomery and Gen. Patton shaking hands in the liberated city of Palermo. In reality, they did not like each other very much, as was shown in the famous movie with George C. Scott. Lastly, is a US Army map showing the movements of the US troops in the invasion of Sicily. Palermo is in the middle at the top. (Note: Both photos and the map are in public domain and at Wikimedia Commons.)

-- Adrian