Being there . . . . with the 332nd U.S. Infantry Regiment of the Army in World War I. They were
the only American regiment assigned to Italy as Pershing’s “Propaganda Regiment” to quietly
form a phantom army that would aid the Italian armed forces defeat the Austro-Hungarian
Empire. You’ll participate with the 332nd as it fights in the Vittorio-Veneto Campaign following
the armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918, then serve in the occupation of Austria,
Dalmatia, and Montenegro. In this beautiful Schiffer Military History hardcover, Robert J.
Dalessandro and Rebecca S. Dalessandro lavishly illustrate their riveting narrative with over 300
rare and unpublished color and sepia photographs, which were borrowed from public and
private collections. Because of their years of meticulous research, study, and writing, the
amazing story of the brave “Lions of St. Mark” is brilliantly portrayed and narratively
illuminated.
“AMERICAN LIONS – – The 332nd Infantry Regiment in Italy in World War I”, by Robert J.
Dalessandro & Rebecca S. Dalessandro. SCHIFFER Military History, Atglen, PA.: 2010, 253 pages,
8 7/8” x 11 ½”, hardcover, with over 270 color/bw images, $69.99. Visit,
www.schifferbooks.com. Or, E-mail: Info@schifferbooks.com.
Reviewed and recommended by Don DeNevi
The R.J. & R.S. Dalessandro Dedication: “To those who inspire future generations of Americans
and to the men and women of the Armed Services who have put their lives on the line for over
230 years so that the American people might enjoy their freedom.”
In their cogent yet mesmerizing Introduction, the Dalessandros state that most regimental
histories focus on grand strategies and watershed events that reshape the world in which we
live. Although respectful, “AMERICAN LIONS” does not agree. Yes, World War I is the formal
setting for the seemingly endless four-year tragic drama of death and destruction. But it relies
on the voices of those who were at the core of that regiment to describe what it was all about,
and how their fellow warriors won the greatest victory yet known to mankind.
When the 332nd was born on 27 August 1917, in Camp Sherman, south-central Ohio next
door to the historic community of Chillicothe, America’s entry was imminent. It was one of the
four infantry regiments that formed the 83 rd Division. “Every man, woman, and child in Ohio
came to look upon the regiment as their own sons”. After long months of preparation, and
armed with the new U.S. Enfield Rifle M1917, or M17, over 1,000 infantrymen, staff, and their
aides of the 332nd began the call to arms for “the Big Show over there” in France.
But no sooner when they arrived, with World War I near its bloody end coasting toward a
cease fire, or armistice, i.e., a virtual German surrender, strife and a contending altercation and
controversy broke out among the American generals at General Headquarters. No one of the
332 understood the bitterness of politics between the Brass, but the upshot was the regiment
being reassigned to Italy where whole new adventures, minus deadly daily combat, was the
norm. The new arrivals, accompanied by an Italian band or two, paraded through every town
they traversed in and around Genoa, through Verona, Villafranca, and the like. Even before they
unpacked, the Italians in Northeastern Italy were screaming, “Put the Americans in!”, especially
since their General Headquarters and camp were in Treviso, near Venice, so near the Armistice
Line with Austria-Hungary. Further adventures unfolded, guaranteeing us readers additional
fascinating reading, as the 332nd became a “chess piece” in the game of world politics. All is
neatly explained, providing buffs with a history few ever bothered to learn. Chapter 6,
“Together Again and Back to Ohio” is one of the most endearing homecoming pieces a military
reader will ever read.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, God Bless him, said, “Those who long enjoyed such privileges as we
enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.”
