Detailed history

The Florence American Cemetery and Memorial lies outside the city of Florence in Italy. The site contains the headstones of 4,402 military dead, many who fell after the capture of Rome in June 1944 and fighting in the Apennines Mountains late in the War. A further 1,409 names are commemorated on the Wall of Missing. A chapel memorial and map also honour the dead and outline the American campaign across Rome and the Alps.

The region was liberated in 1944 by the South African 6th Armoured Division, and shortly after the area was transferred to the Fifth Army. Following the end of the War, nearby temporary cemeteries were determined to be unsuitable and the site of the Florence American Cemetery, near the Greve River was chosen. The site represents 39 percent of fallen personnel from the Fifth Army who died fighting around Rome and in the Alps. The cemetery was designed by McKim, Mead and White and landscaped by Clarke and Rapuano, it was dedicated in 1960. The Florence American Cemetery is owned and maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/florence-american-cemetery

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