The Campaign for Sicily, 1943

 Four photographic units, two each from the 196^th and 163^rd Signal Photographic Companies, accompanied the landing force into Sicily. Each unit consisted of one officer cameraman and six enlisted cameramen. Actual photographic coverage began some 30 days before the invasion date when the cameramen made a complete pictorial record of the vast preparations then under way.

The primary purpose was to furnish scenes to be used for a projected full-length feature film on the invasion, but as it turned out they were widely used for other purposes. Newsreel companies used the films extensively to demonstrate to audiences the thoroughness with which the Army prepared for an invasion. The War Department Bureau of Public Relations characterized the film as “magnificent” and rated it “the most perfect war coverage in the photographic medium seen during this war.”

All together, 38 Army combat photographers covered the campaign. Thirty-two of them were attached to various tactical units, and six men, specially assigned, were under the direct control of Seventh Army. The men assigned directly to Seventh Army proved highly effective because they could be shifted about whenever and wherever their services were required. Once again, as in North Africa, the advantages of a flexible organization were demonstrated. Two cameramen volunteered for duty with the 82^nd Airborne Division. One of them, T/Sgt. Cecil M. Campbell, was assigned to a glider unit, but the other found himself attached to the 505^th Parachute Infantry. Although he had never made a parachute jump before, he dropped with the unit behind the enemy lines on the night of 9-10 July.

During the period 10 July to 31 August, Signal Corps photographers sent the War Department 3,200 still pictures, 56,500 feet of 35 mm negative, and 1,650 feet of 16 mm. picture Kodachrome. The War Department Board of Review, judging the material “extremely interesting,” forwarded an official recommendation to the Seventh Army for the “prompt and efficient” manner in which photographic coverage of the campaign was handled.

-- Source: United States Army in World War II: The Technical Services – The Signal Corps: The Outcome. Author, Thompson, G. R. and Dixie R. Harris.  Washington, D.C. Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1966.

New photographs of the Sicilian Campaign taken by members of the 3131st Signal Service Company T/Sgt. Cecil Max Campbell
180514 Sicily Invasion – American troops advancing through enemy territory in Sicily. July 11, 1943. Signal Corps Photo #MM-43-C4-12 (Sgt. Cecil Max Campbell). Copy negative made from original 35mm R-120-12, received from Allied Force Headquarters, Signal Corps Photo Section, July 1943. Released by BHR, Auth. #5, 7/24/1943. 4x5 copy negative.

GEORGE H. GETTY

George H. Getty, left, also served in General Assignment United (GAU) #2 under Captain Frank Morang in the Battle for Sicily. As he recounts: . 

"On January 1, 1944 our GAU (General Assignment Unit) #2, 196th Signal Photo Company (this may be incorrect as the 196th Signal Photo Company did not come into existence until administrative order in late 1944) , the last to leave Sicily, left Palermo, Sicily, and head for our newly-assigned location near Naples, Italy.

Our entourage consisted of 2nd Lt. James V. Grann; Private Francis P. Mulhair (Pat), motion picture cameraman; Private. Chester G. Rusbar (Rus), still photographer; Pvt. George Getty, still photographer; and Privates Marshall J. Bull and John N. Pitts, drivers.

We had been forced to leave Sgt. Louis J. Murchio, motion picture cameraman, in the hospital in Palermo where he was recuperating from surgery. He would rejoin us when able. We were driving three vehicles loaded with our personal equipment and bed-rolls plus whatever else we had managed to scrounge and had hopes of keeping."

Notes of George H. Getty, provided by his wife Helen. Additional photographers  who are known only by last names joined GAU #2 including: Peacock, Spradling, Rapcyznski, Gallagher, Goldman, Brin, Hartman, Rubin and Wallace.

 

New photograph of the Sicilian Campaign taken by members of the 3131st Signal Service Company George H, Getty
SC 177863 Canicatti, Sicily being shelled with artillery and tank fire. July 13, 1943 Signal Corps Photo #MM-GET-7-13 43-P1-168. (George H. Getty) Original negative received from Allied Force Heaquarters, Signal Corps Photo Section, July 1943. Released by BPR, Auth - #3, July 28, 1943. 4x5 original negative.

Learn more about the Allied Battle for Sicily, 1943 through these links:

U.S. Army - Battle for Sicily 9 July-17 August - 1943 - http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/72-16/72-16.htm -

On the night of 9-10 July 1943, an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels launched one of the largest combined operations of World War II� the invasion of Sicily. Over the next thirty-eight days, half a million Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen grappled with their German and Italian counterparts for control of this rocky outwork of Hitler's "Fortress Europe." When the struggle was over, Sicily became the first piece of the Axis homeland to fall to Allied forces during World War II. More important, it served as both a base for the invasion of Italy and as a training ground for many of the officers and enlisted men who eleven months later landed on the beaches of Normandy.

The Liberation Trilogy, by Rick Atkinson, http://www.liberationtrilogy.com/day_of_battle.htm

An excellent account of the War In Italy, 1943-44 features interactive maps, a full list of manuscripts and other unpublished documents used in The Day of Battle, Signal Corps Photographs and historical photos.

VIDEO: Youtube - The First European D-Day - "Lost Evidence- Battle for Sicily"  (Part 1) View the five part series to learn more about Allied planning for the invasion of Sicily, the conduct of the campaign, and its aftermath.

Click here to register a veteran with the WW II Memorial Registry! The memory of America's World War II generation is preserved within the physical memorial and through the World War II Registry of Remembrances, an individual listing of Americans who contributed to the war effort. Any U.S. citizen who helped win the war, whether a veteran or someone on the home front, is eligible for the Registry. Names in the Registry will be forever linked to the memorial's bronze and granite representations of their sacrifice and achievement.

Historical Resources