Battle re-enactment to protect Gothic Line

[Kyt]

http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/...d=569425&rfi=6

EAST WINDSOR - A group of Italians are working to preserve a historic World War II battle site, known as the Gothic Line, by staging a yearly re-enactment of the battle in Italy and establishing a museum there.

Retired school administrator and teacher Armand Regalbuti happened to be traveling in Italy in September when he chanced upon a WWII re-enactment in the mountains north of Florence.

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"I went over there for about a month in September by myself and rented a car and did some traveling on my own. At the bed and breakfast I saw this pamphlet about the re-enactment," Regalbuti said.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

That re-enactment was of the battle at the Il Giogo Pass - a long strategic battle in WWII, which began in 1944 and ended in 1945 - that helped turn the tide of the war, he said.

"It was considered as critical as the invasion of Normandy," he said.

As the Allies were pushing up from Sicily from Rome near the end of WWII, during the Italian Campaign, the Gothic Line through the Appenine Mountains was supposed to be an unbreakable defensive barrier held by German soldiers, he said.

The Gothic Line was first penetrated in the fall of 1944 by Italian and Allied forces, but no decisive breakthrough occurred until the spring of 1945.

Regalbuti said breaking through that line has been deemed by historians to be one of the definitive WWII battles.

A veteran himself, Regalbuti did not serve during WWII, but was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and served during the Korean War from 1952 to 1956. However, his is brother, John Regalbuti, was there.

"My brother was in the invasion of Normandy," he said.

John Regalbuti was a sergeant in the U.S. Army in WWII and landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, Armand Regalbuti said.

Regalbuti, who lives in East Windsor, was assistant principal at the high school for five years in the 1970s before moving on to be a junior high school principal for 19 years.

During the summers, Regalbuti and his family would travel to Europe for a month where he worked as an administrator at the American Institute in Europe, having been the school principal in Italy for nine of his 11 years overseas.

As a result, Armand Regalbuti can speak fluent Italian and has visited Italy 27 times.

After the break-through at Il Giogo Pass occurred in 1945, an encampment was built and today there is a large monument at the site dedicated to the American soldiers involved in the battle, Regalbuti said.

Italians from all walks of life participate in the re-enactment as German, Italian, and American soldiers, digging foxholes, building encampments, and recreating the long siege, which didn't end until April 29, 1945, when the Germans surrendered. This was the third year the re-enactment has been held.

Several associations are working to preserve the site at Il Giogo Pass, with weaponry, Jeeps, and tanks, as well as men and women in uniform to commemorate the breakthrough.

Regalbuti attended the re-enactment, then during the concluding ceremonies he was asked to address those in attendance.

"I felt like a VIP," Regalbuti said. "I was quite proud of what these people were doing. A couple of hundred people were there along with the dignitaries, and they asked me to speak as the only American who has ever been there."

The Italian group, called Gotica Toscana, has about 150 active members within three associations and is working to establish a WWII museum, he said.

"They are trying to establish a museum over there and trying to collect World War II uniforms and ship it over to do reenactments," he said.

Regalbuti said the Italians have generally been more interested in ancient history than in more recent history, but that seems to be changing.

"It was quite a treat to see this and to participate was quite an honor." he said. "They are quite excited about it."