Sgt. William Cantrell stood beside Italians dancing in Piazza Marconi to celebrate the 80th anniversary of their town being liberated. And then, he was part of it. “I was on the side and this little old lady just took my hand,” said Cantrell, a Tennessee-born paratrooper from the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion. “I couldn’t say no.”

His command team, Lt. Col. Ryan Hulse and Command Sgt. Maj. Gerardo Moran, already had Italian dance partners. And soon, a dozen paratroopers were folk dancing in jump boots throughout the cobblestone square, just below the famous Romeo and Juliet castles. Traditional Italian music played. Hundreds of townspeople clapped and watched.