Peter L. Belmonte Bücher

Thousands of immigrants from the southern Italian region of Calabria came to the Chicago-area in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. As many as 8,000 of them served in the U.S. military during World War I, and until now no effort has been made to document their story. Historian Peter L. Belmonte has been researching these men using military, immigration, naturalization, census, family, and other records for more than twenty years. This book recounts the military history of more than 380 men from the province of Cosenza, Calabria. Their history highlights the role of the U.S. military in World War I; they served in every type of unit, from stateside camps to the trenches of France and even to the frozen wasteland of Siberia. Some of them earned medals for bravery. Many of the men suffered life-changing wounds, and some made the supreme sacrifice. Long without a voice in historical works, their story is finally told here.

The book presents first-hand accounts from Italian World War II veterans who bravely served their country while facing the stigma of being labeled Enemy Aliens by their own government. These personal stories highlight the courage and resilience of individuals who navigated the complexities of loyalty and identity during a tumultuous period in history.

"Nearly 100 years ago, on October 4, 1918, on a muddy, poison gas-soaked hillside in France, the U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment jumped-off amidst a hail of shell fire and machine-gun fire to begin the final push to end World War I. For the next 39 days, with little respite, the regiment fought desperately against a determined, well-armed foe. This is the story of a single regiment in a successful, highly acclaimed "Regular Army" division, during the greatest American battle to date. This is not a dry recitation of facts, but an in-depth examination of a single regiment that allows the reader to appreciate the intricacies of small-unit action and the problems associated with leading platoons, companies, and battalions in battle during the Great War, while at the same time depicting the human drama associated with the terrible carnage"--Publisher.