28 January 2020 marked 76 years since 120 Army Nurses of the 93rd and 95th Evacuation Hospitals and the 33rd Field Hospital landed at the Anzio beachhead known as the Hell's Half-Acre. Some of them would never return home.

 

January in Poland / Czech Republic means temperatures around 0°C, chilly wind and short days. On the weekend of the 25th we decided to escape the cold reality with a short weekend break in Anzio, Italy. It was also the 76th anniversary of Operation Shingle which created a great opportunity to explore Anzio and surrounding areas and honor those, who paid the ultimate price while liberating Italy. On the first day we traveled by train to Cisterna di Latina, from were we marched to Isola Bella and Memorial of the US Rangers. On the second day we visited the Anzio Beachhead Museum and took a seaside walk to Nettuno. We visited a camp built by Italian reenactors and continued our walk towards the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial. In total, 17 women are buried at that cemetery, including army nurses, flight nurses and Wacs.

 

Throughout our stay in Anzio we enjoyed fabulous Italian specialties and warm sunshine. It definitely wasn't our last trip to Italy!