Mariano Monopoli joined the Army early in the war and was captured on Crete. He was sent to Lamsdorf, a large PoW camp in Germany. In early 1945, as Soviet force approached, the camp was emptied out and the prisoners marched to the west.
On April 16, B-17 heavy bombers of the 351st Bomb Group attacked the railway yards at Regensberg. The Official History of New Zealand Prisoners of War describes the result for the marching PoWs:
After nearly two weeks' ‘spell’ the party was suddenly moved south again, and hard marching brought them to the Danube near Regensburg on 16 April. Part of the column had barely crossed the river when a large formation of Allied planes came over and bombed the bridge. Some 25 prisoners were killed and a larger number wounded. The whole party was scattered and some made off on their own account, though others returned in the course of the next day or two, preferring at this stage of the war to take advantage of the security afforded by a large organised party.
Mariano was one of those killed. He was buried in the Durnbach War Cemetery.
Wakapuaka Cemetery, Nelson.
No comments:
Post a Comment