Others Also Fought to Liberate Italy

In May 1984 I traveled extensively in Italy with my father, mother and sister. Our visit was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the battle of Monte Cassino, in which my father’s outfit, the Polish 2nd Corps, which fought under the British 8th Army, played a decisive role.

Among the many sites we visited were three Polish cemeteries, which stood out for me because they held the remains of thousands of Poles who had died liberating Italy from the Germans. It therefore came as a surprise to learn, when reading the article by Gwen O’Sullivan Romagnoli (“Tragedy Reforges a Bond Lost to the Past in a Onetime Home,” Jan. 27), that only Americans liberated Italy during World War II. In reality the country was liberated by an international fighting force consisting of Americans, British, French, Italians, New Zealanders, Canadians, South Africans, Indians, Brazilians and Poles.

RICHARD WIDERYNSKI

Long Beach

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Romagnoli’s article told a beautiful story of the solidarity and sympathy shown by the Italians. It helped to explain the tender and concerned letters I received recently from my relatives in Northern Italy about the Sept. 11 tragedy. But it was also interesting to read her account of events, such as the Vietnam War, that created anti-American sentiments over those years.

SUZANNE MICHAUD

Santa Barbara