Eighty-two years ago, the Allied invasion of Italy began in Sicily. The operation preceded landings at Salerno in the Campania region, and with it the push to take Rome.  In May, leaders of the Oklahoma National Guard revisited that same terrain along with Oklahoma State University Department of History professor David D’Andrea.

Stopping at sites in Campania where Oklahomans of the 45th Infantry Division valiantly took part in a vital campaign of World War II, the dignitaries paid homage to the lives lost and sacrifices made. This was one of the first steps in the Guards’ planned “Thunderbird Trail” project, for which D’Andrea is serving as historical adviser.