In September 1943, a major Allied offensive launched on the southwest Italian coast off the Tyrrhenian Sea proved successful in securing a beachhead despite fierce German resistance. It was the first step in liberating the country.
Eighty-two years later, the Chickasaw Nation has financed construction of a commemorative monument in honor of the 50 First American tribes who served in the 45th Infantry Division that took part in the invasion. Their landing site was in Salerno, Italy. The monument site is approximately 25 miles south in Paestum, Italy.
