Soldiers from U.S. Army Garrison Italy helped people from a small Italian community recognize World War II pilots during an April 24 remembrance ceremony. Members of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, wearing dress uniforms, joined Italian paratroopers – currently serving and veterans – plus other community members to unveil a plaque commemorating Operation Herring.

Under gray skies, people gathered in this small town, an hour’s drive south of Vicenza. Italian leaders unveiled the plaque that recognizes American pilots who flew  Italian paratroopers over the Po River Valley – an airborne operation that helped speed up the end of the war in April 1945.