A small, virtual gathering of Italian eyewitnesses occurred last week in the U.S. Army Garrison Italy public affairs office to recall the liberation of Italy and the 75th Anniversary of Victory Day in Europe. A simple request and digital technology provided the stage where four Italians -- who vividly recall April 28, 1945, when American troops arrived to liberate Vicenza and the surrounding region from the Nazi regime—shared their memories of that day.

Sergio Scaroni of Sandrigo, a town 15 km north of Vicenza, was a 15-year-old boy, when in the early hours he watched Soldiers from the 350th Infantry Regiment arrive. "I was living and still do in the same house, which dates back to 1640," he said holding up a 1900s era photograph to the computer camera.