Il passaggio della storia - Into the Po Valley
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Featured Materials
Po Valley DVD / Battle for Bologna
Selected photos from a new Italian DVD focusing on the work of the 196th Signal Photo Company
Collection of photos taken by Army T/4 Don Wiedenmayer during the Battle for Bologna, Italy
The Men Behind the Cameras
Interest in the unique role of the 196th Signal Photo Company and in our project has come from unexpected places.
We were contacted by the Associazione Parco della Commicazione Visiva del Po which produced a 60-minute DVD documentary describing the still and newsreel camera equipment used Army Pictorial Service during the Italian Campaign.
We granted permission to use two still photos, one black and white and the other in color taken by still photographer Donald Wiedenmayer of his partner, newsreel cameraman Army T/4 Edmund Burke O'Connell enjoying a sunny gondola ride in Venice in the spring of 1945.
The inside DVD sleeve also includes a photo of 196th Signal Photo Company still photographer David Kurland, boxed right, looking on.
“I am conducting research on behalf of a small World War II museum in Italy about the visual records of the Allies in the Po Valley, Italy, circa 1945. After obtaining several photos and footage from the National Archives in Washington, D.C.., we became curious about the men behind the cameras.
In this respect, I found your website, www.thelastfarewell.net most interesting and I was wondering if you had any information about surviving members of the 196th Signal Photo Company. We would be interested, for instance in recollections of the crossing of the Po River in April of 1945. Also, one of the camera operators that is mentioned in some of the National Archives’ Combat Films, David D. Kurland, may have been later involved in some Marshall Plan films shot in Italy and it would be nice to know more about it. - Paolo Barlera, Italian Cultural Institute, 686 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.
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The DVD front cover features a sepia tinted photo of a young American combat soldier in his early 20s shouldering his rifle.
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Coming Soon We hope to make individual chapters of this Italian DVD which features newsreel film shot by members of the 196th Signal Photo Company available for viewing soon. |
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Don describes the scene. “Upon arrival in Venice we were stopped by the British Red Caps (military police). When they saw our passes said “By Command of Field Marshal Alexander” they couldn’t get us on our way any faster. We lunched at the Ristorante Cavaletto just off the Piazzo San Marco in the company of British officers.” The close-up color photograph taken that same day also taken by Wiedenmayer captures Burke, center, with Martin Brooks at left, Burke O’Connell and Sam Spirito, right. Photos by Donald Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company, May 1, 1945. |
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We're also working on the full Italian translation of the inside DVD jacket:
L'importanza della documentazione storica
La riceria sui materiali visivi d'epocha e part integrante del progretto di acquisizione, archiviazione e divulgazione peculiari dello statu dell' Associazione Parco della Comunicazione Visiva del Po. Questa prospecttiva general si e incrociata, quattro anni fa, con il National Archives and Records Administration di Washington, archivio consultato in modo organico per poter documentare un momento della storia, lungo i corso del fiume, di cui si e sempre sentito parlare, quello della Second Guerra Mondiale |
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Much of the newsreel film featured in this 60-minute Italian DVD documentary were taken by members of the 196th Signal Photo Company. It isn't clear which Army or Allied combat units are being specifically depicted in the footage. |
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 Three-part
Army Signal Corps documentary of the US efforts to take Italy by acclaimed
director John Huston. The U.S. Army which commissioned the film refused to
show it because it was too honest in its portrayal of the high cost of
battle and the difficulties faced.Part One - Battle of San Pietro, 1943 (1/3) |
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| 85th Infantry Division Breaks into the Po Valley | |
Jewish Infantry Brigade of the British Eighth Army |
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| Po Valley Campaign - Field Artillery units. Includes Selected photos of the 196th Signal Photo Company set to music | |
| Brazilian Army in Italy - Clip honors Brazilian veterans of the Italian Campaign. | |
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1944 Fifth Army Mobile Radio Newsreel - Bring a touch of home to wartime Italy |
The Liberation of Rome, 1944 - Army Pictorial Service |
| Color Film - American GIs Enjoy a C-Ration Dinner in Italy | |
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Honoring the Fallen |
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| American Battle Monument Cemetery in Florence Italy - This video presents a brief narrated tour of Florence American Cemetery's landscaped grounds, architecture, and works of art. | |
| American Battle Monument Cemetery Rome-Sicily and Memorial - Nettuno | |
Click above to register a veteran with the WW II Memorial Registry!
196th Signal Photo Company Photographers - Selected Photos
These special tribute pages features some of the significant still photography of five Army Signal Corps photographers who served in the 196th Signal Photo Company. They include:
/ Cecil "Max"Campbell / John Mason / Donald Wiedenmayer / Jerry KosseffIndex to 196th Signal Photo Company - Still Photo Gallery
Known Army Signal Corps photographs attributed by Signal Corps serial number to individual members of the 3131st Signal Service Company and the 196th Signal Photo Company, Italian Campaign, 1944-1945. These photos were obtained from the National Archives and the public domain.
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Home / About the Co-Authors / About the Book / The Latest - Author Events / Edmund Burke O'Connell / Media Inquiries / Screenplay / Villa Calamai / Donald Wiedenmayer / Contact the Authors / Buy the Book
Historical Resources
O'Connell's Equipment: Bell & Howell 35mm Eyemo Camera
Captain Melvin Gillette / Architect of the Army Pictorial Service
Selected Reference Materials (Orders and Official Documents) / Army Pictorial Service - North Africa
196th SPC - Awards and Decorations
/ 196th SPC Roll of Honor / 196th SPC - Unit History/ 196th SPC - Campaign for Sicily / 196th SPC - Motion Picture Coverage / 196th - Still Photo Coverage
Bibliography / Veteran's History Project / Nauders Crossroads - 1945
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© The Last Farewell - A journey of the heart
By Edmund Burke O'Connell and co-authors Julie Whitman Jones and Thomas J. Sullivan, Jr.
email the authors: the_last_farewell@mail.com
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