I just received this minutes ago from Armonde's daughter, Maria. Oh my heart and soul breaks once more. Sometimes I feel that I cannot bear to hear of another WWII veteran leaving this earth.

She and I had been corresponding over the last few months, after her father needed more care and was moved from his home in PA. I still sent him notes and letters and she wrote every few weeks, telling me how much he appreciated hearing from yours truly.

As many of you know, he and I were extremely close friends, and if all went well, I was planning on visiting him when I went to PA this Oct. Alas, it was not meant to be. Oh I am feeling oh so sad right now.

 

Dear Marion,

With sadness I am writing to tell you that my Dad, Armonde J. Casagrande passed away yesterday, Sunday, May 15, 2016. God blessed him with 96 years. Your contact with him and the engineer project meant a great deal to him. He spoke of his Army days quite often, much more so after communicating with you. So thank you for the part you played in bringing his memories to the forefront.

Maria

The Convoy of Liberation (now a trademarked name) is a living museum on wheels travelling along the roads of the Italian Campaign, and all who take part in it live a unique experience. The edition of 2016, held from the 23rd to the 25th of April, touched the area between Treviso and Padua and was hosted by the 51st Fighter Wing at the Istrana Aiir base and in Padua hosted in the “O. Salome” Barracks in Padua, seat of COMFODI-NORD.
More than 150 WW2 vehicles and 440 reenactors participated to the event.

http://www.goticatoscana.eu/EN/Events/The_Column_2016/column_2016.html

More photos are on the FB pages of Gotica Toscana npa.

We will not forget the values which are its deep inspirational motivations - peace, democracy, family, and opportunity for earning a fair pay through hard work. Values which underline our passion for historical vehicles, their restoration and preservation for future generations.

Occasionally I will poke through the net and perform various searches to see what else is out there. Yesterday I did a "540th" search on Google and will list some of the sites I found.

Operation Dragoon order of battle

Scroll down to see Henry Grisell (36th) on her page

The 85th Engineers - Landing in France - I already have his link on my main site...

Veteran's Day '44 - What were WWII vets doing 70 years ago today? - One of the veterans listed was a member of the 540th

Arthur Giggee, who repaired motor vehicles, was with the 540th Engineer Combat Group, U.S. 7th Army as it advanced through the Rhone River Valley as a part of the southern invasion of France. In November, he was in the Alsace Lorraine area of France, although he had already been in North Africa, Sicily and Anzio.

Go2War2NL - Shows how the 540th was in support of the 82nd Airborne - Sept '43

United States Army War College in Carlisle PA - They have documents in their archives. I really need to go there. Maybe this fall when I am in PA. That would be worthwhile.

http://foundation.sdsmt.edu/file/foundation---documents/WWII---Rhine-River-Crossings.pdf