Pvt. Sullivan Africano never made it to shore during an Allied invasion of Italy. Africano’s ship hit a mine on Jan. 22, 1944 and sank in the rough, stormy sea, killing him and 482 other crew members.

Officials read his and two other American casualties’ stories aloud Tuesday at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery to punctuate the great human cost of freeing Italy from fascism in World War II. It was part of a 75th anniversary commemoration of the Allied landings at Anzio and Nettuno. The amphibious assaults began a five-month campaign that would result in the liberation of Rome, but would also take the lives of 28,000 Allied troops, including 11,000 Americans.