On the north side of the traffic circle in the triangle where the circle intersects with Piazzale Kennedy.

A 2 ft x 2 ft granite stone with a tile mosaic front.

The plaque was placed on Memorial Day 2000 and remembers the fallen who lay in the nearby Sicily-Rome American Military Cemetery.  The 45^th Division and the 180^th Infantry Regiment fought through Italy from the Sicily landings through Anzio (Operation Shingle).

From the Oklahoma Historic Society:

The 45th Infantry Division was the only unit to ship straight from the United States into the battle to take the Island of Sicily from the Axis Powers in June of 1943. The other units who fought had been in North Africa for a year and were already veterans of the war. Despite being a "green" unit, the 45th fought as well as any of the other divisions in taking Sicily.

After taking the Island of Sicily in thirty-eight days, the Allies then launched an attack on Italy. Italy was a member of the Axis Powers. After the Allies took Sicily, Italy surrendered. Because the Nazis occupied Italy, soldiers in the 45th fought only German troops from now on.

Italy is a small country with many mountains, so the fighting was slow because it was hard to move trucks, food, tents, and ammunition through mountains. The Allies tried a risky attack to sneak behind the Germans. They landed troops in boats at a place called Anzio. The Germans were ready for the attack, though, and they trapped the 45th in Anzio for 135 days. The Germans attacked the 45th every day during those months, but the 45th never gave up. The 45th was able to break out of the siege and capture Rome, the capital of Italy, on June 4, 1944. They then moved to operate in France and participated in Operation Dragoon – the Southern France landings in August 1944.

The text is written in English and Italian.  The English reads:

“MEMORIAL DAY”

MAY 29, 2000

180^TH INFANTRY REGIMENT  45^TH INFANTRY DIVISION

NETTUNO – ANZIO (ITALY)

TO THE GALLANT MEN THAT FOUGHT AND TO THOSE

THAT REST IN THE SICILY-ROME AMERICAN CEMETERY

“YOU WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN”