Like many of my readers I have been following the war in Ukraine.  The introduction of new western weaponry on the battlefield has generally not had the desired effect.  The Ukrainians have not routed the Russians and given the state of play most likely won’t.  Warfare on the battlefields of Ukraine has a mixture of 21^st century and early 20^th century earmarks.

Drones and sophisticated missilry have marked much of the 21^st century warfare.  Drones have been used as weapons and as sophisticated target acquisition means.  In both cases they have been subject to successful engagement by increasing air defense capability.  Not discussed in the media, but this increased ability to engage drones means an increase in air defense target acquisition and tracking capability.  This increase has allowed for the successful engagement of many types of drones.  Drones have been used extensively by Ukraine to acquire targets and then engage them with battlefield artillery.  As the range of the engagement capabilities has increased so has the depth of the battlefield for the Ukrainians.  Drones and other intelligence collection means have provided accurate targets for engagement by increasingly more sophisticated artillery and air delivered ordnance.  For the first time we are seeing Ukraine able to engage depots of Russian supplies in western Russia.

Conversely, the Russians have not had the same level of success with their Iranian supplied drones in this type of combat or engaging targets deep in Ukraine.  The current intimidation attacks on the grain port and civilian targets near Kyiv have only been marginally successful.  The attacks on the Ukrainian grain export port and the threats against ships coming into port to export the grain are a significant escalation by Russia.  It would seem that the Russians are hoping that this escalation could cause the Ukrainians to make some concessions.  As I sit on the Danube and see empty grain barges moving towards Austria and Hungary I have to wonder if this is an alternative export means about to happen.

The time lapse between the cessation of most Russian offensive action and Ukraine’s spring/summer offense provided time for the Russians to build a classic Word War I or II defense in depth.  Trench lines in depth, minefields and booby traps characterize the Russian defenses.  Modern armor is not designed to slog through such defenses.  It is designed to exploit disruptions of the defense to conduct rapid assaults against the unprepared 3^rd echelon and logistical forces.  Open maneuver warfare on the plains of the Ukraine is much different than slogging through minefields and trench lines manned by infantry with anti-armor weapons.  The use of cluster or scatterable munitions may reduce the enemy in strong points to allow penetrations especially if they can detonate mine fields and eliminate Russian anti-armor crews. To date the jury is still out on the Ukrainian ability to figure out how to penetrate the Russian defenses.

In all this war has all of the earmarks of World War I—attrition warfare. The daily battles are characterized by a large amount of artillery being fired against sometimes fleeting targets.  It appears with superior counter battery capability, weapon accuracy and superior target acquisition capability that Ukraine’s firing of about 30% fewer rounds is having much more affect. However, in a battle of attrition the numbers are not on Ukraine’s side.  It needs to figure out how to conduct blitzkrieg like penetrations of the Russian defenses.  This maneuver warfare with superior firepower and mobility of western provided armor/mechanized equipment could be locally successful.

To have significant battlefield success the Ukrainians need to fight this hybrid type of warfare while husbanding their manpower resources to commit it in mass–not spread it over the large areas that mark the lines of contact today.  The next few months should be telling.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

80 years ago, to the minute, brave paratroopers of the First Battalion, 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who had parachuted into the area just behind the fortifications to our rear, were fighting off German efforts to attack through this very point to destroy the American First Infantry Division which was coming ashore near Gela.  These infantrymen were to link up with the paratroopers in the coming days.  

Today I join you not only as a former warrior, but as the son of a true warrior (LTC Arthur
F. Gorham) who was leading those paratroopers who were fighting outnumbered and out gunned to safeguard the landings near Gela. My father gave his life while leading his airborne soldiers against this determined foe at the beginning of the effort to rid Italy and Europe of the scourge of Fascism’s two evil dictatorships. His name is at the top of the tablet behind me.

I am again today reminded of a saying that I had to learn while a cadet at West Point that is attributed to General Douglas MacArthur-“There is no substitute for
victory.” The brave men and women from many countries who struggled with the foe
here in Sicily 80 years ago as part of Operation Husky knew what the sweet taste of
victory would be.

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was the major World War II
campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis (Italy and Nazi Germany). It was a
coordinated large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of
intense land combat. Husky set the stage for launching the campaign to liberate the rest
of Italy. The lessons learned from Operation Husky made the landings at Normandy possible. It all began right here!

My friend, Senore Ventura, whose farm we are at today, remembers observing as a young boy the fighting and dying that occurred right here where we celebrate the feats of those brave warriors who fought here for freedom. History was made by these brave men. It was the first nighttime mass parachute drop ever. It was the first true test of combined military operations by a military coalition. At midnight on July 9/10, 1943 these men would leap into Sicily totally unaware that scores of German panzers were lurking just inland in the darkness.

For many of the American forces and for the entire Canadian contingent, this was their first time in combat. They learned here what it meant to win on the battlefield against a determined foe.

Today the nature of warfare has changed. It is unclear what constitutes victory in the
current political climate in the eyes of the media. What is the taste of victory? We fight against terrorists who know no rules of war and who want to deny us our freedoms. Very pertinent to today is what Winston Churchill said in 1940 before the United States entered World War II: “Victory at all cost. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory no matter how long and how hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.”.

As we contemplate the sacrifices made 80 years ago let us insure that the warriors’, who died freeing the world from Fascism and later communism, lives will continue to be relevant in our search for freedom from the tyranny that terrorists and others would impose on us. We as an international community must remember that for without victory there is no survival. Those brave men and women of 80 years ago understood this–do we?

Let me close by reassuring those who gave their lives for freedom that we understand
their sacrifice by reciting The Absent Legions by – Edgar A. Guest

Somewhere, far away, ‘they heard us
When the word of Victory stirred us.
Safe within God’s Holy keeping,
Heard us cheer and saw us weeping;
Shared in all we did or said-
Freedom’s glorious, youngest dead.

Never doubt it, there was gladness
Where the dead are done with madness,
Hate and hurt, and need for dying.

As they saw our banners flying

On our day of joyous pride,

” ‘Twas for this,” said they,

“We died!”

What if tears our eyes had blinded.
As of them we were reminded?
Never doubt it. they were voicing
Somewhere. songs of great rejoicing;
Glad to look on earth and see

Safe our country. still. and free.

Finally, I want to thank Senore Ventura and all of our Sicilian friends for the warm hospitality extended to my family and all who celebrate freedom.  In our 4 visits to this hallowed ground, we have been warmly received and we appreciate the friendship that has not only been developed here but between our two nations.

May God bless the warriors listed on the memorial behind me and all of the warriors who died for freedom and each and every one of us.

Thank you!

Part 7 The fight near Ponte Dirillo

Art positioned himself and the few dozen stragglers he found on the high ground near Comico airfield.  On July 11, when approximately ten German tanks and a battalion of infantry began to assault their position, and all of his men were lying as low as possible, Art was on his feet, dodging incoming fire and moving around the position, bucking up his outnumbered men.  When one of the teams manning a captured anti-tank gun was all wounded or killed, Gorham sprang for the weapon, loaded it himself, and went after one of the tanks.  He hit the tank’s vulnerable side, setting it on fire.  Art then moved from point-to-point firing into the eye-slit of tanks, shouting encouragement to the men and directing their fire until the counterattack was repulsed.  For his actions on July 11, 1943, Gorham was awarded the nation’s second-highest award for bravery, the Distinguished Service Cross.

The next day, July 12, Art and his unit came face to face with another German tank unit near Niscemi, Sicily.  William B. Breuer in Drop Zone Sicily describes the action: Art “grabbed a rocket launcher and edged his way within range of a menacing Tiger Tank which had continued to roll forward.  Gorham, out in the open and in full view of enemy tankers, kneeled to take aim at the tank.  Gunners in the Tiger spotted the parachute leader and fired an 88mm shell at Gorham at point-blank range.  Gorham, hardnosed to the end, fell over dead.”

The citation for the Distinguished Service Cross he was awarded for his actions reports: “Lieutenant Colonel Gorham personally manned a rocket launcher and destroyed one tank.  While attempting to destroy another with hand grenades and a rifle, Lieutenant Colonel Gorham was killed.” The details of this story were later relayed to Gorham’s family by Chicago Tribune reporter John Hall Thompson in December 1943.

Bill Ryder first reported Art’s death in a March of Time radio broadcast on August 19, 1943.  “One of the outstanding examples of heroism was Lt. Col. Arthur Gorham, whose unit was attacked by tanks.  When one of his bazooka teams was wiped out by an approaching tank, he manned the weapon himself and got the tank single-handed before being killed himself by another tank on their flank.”  Ryder was the first American paratrooper and had jumped with Colonel Gavin in Sicily as an advisor.  Ryder would later return Gorham’s personal effects to my mother.

Colonel Gavin was to write to my mother, “Most of the combat success of the Regiment in Sicily was due to Art and the men of his command.”  After the war, Gavin, by then a lieutenant general, wrote in his memoir, On to Berlin, “Colonel Gorham and his small group of troopers… accomplished all of the missions assigned to the entire regimental combat team.  It was a remarkable performance, and I know of nothing like it that occurred at any time later in the war…His death was a great loss to the division.”

General Ridgway probably put this in the best perspective when he wrote, “The action which resulted in his death was typical of his inspiring leadership, for it was he that personally instilled the spirit of the attack at a time that those around him were thinking only of defense, and in person led the attack, which succeeded.  His indomitable spirit acknowledged no odds.”

Plaque Near Ponte Dirillo Ceremony to be here on 10 July 2023

Looking north west from the plaque to the fortification guarding the road

One of the bunkers overwatching Ponte Dirillo

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Precisely 80 years ago at 8:10 PM the aircraft carrying the paratroopers of the 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment set off from Tunisia.  Their mission was to block the roads leading to the landing sites here in Gela to protect the landing forces from attack on their beachheads.  One of those paratroopers was my father LTC Arthur F. Gorham.

It is a distinct honor for all of Art Gorham’s descendants to be in Sicily to celebrate his life, his heroism and the heroism of all of the brave soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

History was made by these brave paratroopers. It was the first nighttime mass parachute drop ever. It was the first true test of combined military operations by a military coalition. At
midnight these paratroopers jumped into Sicily totally unaware that scores of
German panzers were lurking just inland in the darkness. This was the beginning of Operation Husky.  The allied military operation to liberate Sicily.

Strong winds of up to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) scattered aircraft widely off course,
and most of the paratroopers failed to reach their rallying points. Those few that did rallied vicinity Ponte Dirillo and in the ensuing days defeated several counterattacks lead by German panzers against the beachhead and thus insured the success of the landings. This small force lead by my father accomplished the Regimental mission and insured that the landings on the beaches near where we are tonight would be successful.

The First Infantry Division (the Big Red One), in which I served twice. Came ashore near where we are tonight and was to link up with the paratroopers as they went on to secure the area around Gela and begin Patton’s steady attacks north on the west side of Sicily, The liberation of Sicily had begun.

My father gave his life while leading his airborne soldiers against a determined
foe at the beginning of the effort to rid Italy and Europe of the scourge of Fascism’s two evil dictatorships.  He personally destroyed several German panzers attempting to reach the beaches.  For his bravery he was awarded two Distinguished Service Crosses.   The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest award for bravery that the United States military awards. 

From Sicily the allied forces who had liberated Sicily were to attack the Italian mainland and a year later came the Normandy invasion.  Normandy was possible because of the lessons learned liberating Sicily.

Today the nature of warfare has changed. It is unclear what constitutes victory in the current political climate in the eyes of the media. What is the taste of victory? We fight against foes who know no rules of war and who want to deny us and our allies our freedoms. Very pertinent to today is what Winston Churchill said in 1940 before the United States entered World War II “Victory at all cost. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory no matter how long and how hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.”.

As we contemplate the sacrifices made 80 years ago let us insure that those warriors’
lives continue to be relevant in our search for freedom from the tyranny that others would impose on us. We as an international community must remember that for without victory there is no survival. Those brave men and women of 80 years ago understood this-do we?

Let me close by reassuring those who gave their lives for freedom that we understand their sacrifice by reciting The Absent Legions by – Edgar A. Guest

Somewhere, far away, ‘they heard us
When the word of Victory stirred us.
Safe within God’s Holy keeping,
Heard us cheer and saw us weeping;
Shared in all we did or said-
Freedom’s glorious, youngest dead.

Never doubt it, there was gladness
Where the dead are done with madness,
Hate and hurt, and need for dying.

As they saw our banners flying

On our day of joyous pride,

” ‘Twas for this,” said they,

“We died!”.What if tears our eyes had blinded.
As of them we were reminded?
Never doubt it. they were voicing
Somewhere. songs of great rejoicing;
Glad to look on earth and see

Safe our country. still. and free.

The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily or Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers (Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the invasion.

To divert some of the Axis forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations. Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943 and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners; the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island and the Mediterranean Sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since 1941. These events led to the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, being toppled from power in Italy on 25 July, and to the Allied invasion of Italy on 3 September.

Strategic Implications

The German leader, Adolf Hitler, “canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy,” resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front. The collapse of Italy necessitated German troops replacing the Italians in Italy and to a lesser extent the Balkans,

resulting in one-fifth of the entire German army being diverted from the east to southern Europe, a proportion that would remain until near the end of the war.  Secondly, without Sicily it is unlikely that Normandy almost a year later would have been possible.  The lessons learned about large combined arms operations in Sicily provided great aid to the allied planners and warriors.  Many who fought in Sicily went on to the beaches of France.

On July 9^th, activity was feverish as the soldiers packed their gear and drew ammunition and rations.  Tents were struck.  Excess gear was turned into the supply sergeants.  Dinner was served early that evening, and then the troops were transported to the airfields.  Operation Husky was on!

Each member of the Regiment received a slip of paper with the following message from Colonel James Gavin:

Tonight you embark upon a combat mission for which our people and the free people of the world have been waiting for two years. 

You will spearhead the landing of an American Force upon the island of Sicily.  Every preparation has been made to eliminate the element of chance.  You have been given the means to do the job and you are backed by the largest assemblage of air power in the world’s history.

The eyes of the world are upon you.  The hopes and prayers of every American go with you.

Since it is our first fight at night you must use the countersign and avoid firing on each other.  The bayonet is the night fighter’s best weapon.  Conserve your water and ammunition.

The term “American Parachutists” has become synonymous with courage of a high order.  Let us carry the fight to the enemy and make American Parachutists feared and respected through all of his ranks.  Attack violently.  Destroy him wherever found.

I know you will do your job.

Good landing, good fight.  And good luck.

• Colonel Gavin

The men finally chuted up, and the planes began to take off.  It took an hour and six minutes to get all the aircraft in the air on a route leading to Malta before turning toward Sicily.  Everything to that point had gone according to plan.  After that, very little went according to plan. 

The troop carriers were to fly 200 feet (about 61 meters) above the sea to avoid radar detection.  However, a violent wind storm whipped the carrier formations, creating problems as the pilots fought the wind.  At such a low level, the pilot feared being thrown into the waves just below their aircraft.  The flight crews were navigating by compass and elapsed time.  The wind upset the elapsed time measurements and blew the formations off their compass headings.  The storm midway on the route became a tailwind, so most pilots overshot their first significant landmark, Malta.

The early hours of the assault to liberate Sicily could have been a disaster.  A few planes, either because of luck or superior navigation, managed to drop their sticks of 16 paratroopers within one to three miles of the correct drop zones.  Half of A Company of the 1st Battalion, including the battalion command element with Art, were dropped near the Y crossing: the Regiment’s most important objective.  The rest of the battalion and Regiment were scattered far from their assigned drop zones.  The resulting little groups of paratroopers, as they had been trained, proceeded to attack every German or Italian element that they encountered.  This small group of soldiers led by Art Gorham was to accomplish the mission assigned to the entire Regiment. 

THE PROGRAM OF EVENTS IN SICILY FOR THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF OPERATION HUSKY. THE PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED BY THE ARMY COMMAND IN SICILY TOGETHER WITH THE UNITED STATES AND CANADIAN