Ronald Spogli, U.S. ambassador to Italy, stands behind a wreath placed in his name at memorial wall at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial on Monday. The wall honors U.S. soldiers missing during World War II fighting in Italy. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
Ronald Spogli, U.S. ambassador to Italy, stands behind a wreath placed in his name at memorial wall at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial on Monday. The wall honors U.S. soldiers missing during World War II fighting in Italy. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
Brig. Gen. William Garrett, commanding general of Southern European Task Force (Airborne), addresses several hundred people who visited the Florence, Italy, American Cemetery and Memorial for a Memorial Day observance. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
U.S. troops who died fighting in Italy during World War II and were identified are buried in the Florence American Cemetery. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
A member of Italy’s carabinieri renders a salute Monday during the playing of the U.S. and Italian national anthems. Behind him is a memorial with the names of 1,409 U.S. servicemembers missing in the fighting in Italy during World War II. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
FLORENCE, Italy — The debt is forever.
When a soldier pays with his life, be it one day ago or 100 years, the debt a nation owes is forever, said Boy Scout Robert Cavin, 14, who traveled from Aviano to Florence, Italy, for a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday.
"We’re here today to honor the fallen soldiers who died in World War II, but I think, for me, it’s more about all of the soldiers, everyone who died," said the scout from Troop 323 at Aviano Air Base in northern Italy.
"If somebody does something for you, dies in war, it’s forever," the teenager said Monday following a Memorial Day observance held at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, a few miles south of the Renaissance city.
Stark white marble crosses stand out against the rolling Tuscan hills, marking the 70-acre valley cemetery set along the gentle banks of the Greve River.
"With heartfelt humility and gratitude, we acknowledge that we can never fully repay those who have given us their precious gift of life," said Brig. Gen. William Garrett, commanding general of Southern European Task Force (Airborne). "We recognize that no words can ever truly express our thanks for such sacrifice."
None of the 4,402 soldiers and airmen buried on Italian soil wanted to die, Ronald Spogli, U.S ambassador to Italy, said in an address delivered in English and flawless Italian. The dead never returned home. "They are true heroes."
They won’t be the last, he acknowledged. "The need for sacrifice in defense continues," Spogli said, recognizing present-day conflicts.
Italy’s success today would not be a reality without the aid of American and Allied troops who fought for the nation’s liberation from fascists and Nazis more than 60 decades ago, said Guido Crosetto, Italy’s undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Defense.
"We as Italians have to remember the blood spilled by the Americans for our liberation," he said during the ceremony.
The cemetery, one of 14 maintained worldwide by the American Battle Monuments Commission, contains a memorial engraved with the names of 1,409 missing servicemembers: "Here are recorded the names of Americans who gave their lives in the service of their country and who sleep in unknown graves."
