Just east the hamlet of Dragoncello, just off the roadway.

The memorial includes an altar “Ara” covered by a metal arch surrounded by brick walls which include inscribed plaques remembering the Italian units and dead of the operation. Known in Italian as: “l'ara dei paracadutisti d'Italia”, “the altar to the Italian Paratroopers”.

The local community and the Italian National Military Parachutists (ANPdI) Association plans to add a plaque to the American involvement in the Operation on the 76^th Anniversary of the operation on April 20, 2021.

Operation Herring (Arringa in Italian) also know as Operation Herring-1, was a Combined British Commonwealth, Italian Army, Italian Partisan and US Airborne Operation  conducted in April 1945.  The operation consisted of several airborne drops with the mission to disrupt retreating Germans between the Apennine mountains and the Po River and to secure bridges across the Po. This was the last Airborne Operation in Europe in WW2.

On April 20, 1945, Paratroopers from the Nembo Group (Part of the Folgore Division) along with British of “F” Recce Squadron took of from Rosignano (Livorno) in US C-47 Transport Aircraft of the US 64^th Troop Carrier Group (51^st Carrier Wing, 12^th US Air Force) to drop in areas between the enemy and the Po River.  The Nembo Group dropped between Poggio Rusco and Sermide encountering heavy flak, which resulted in the forces being widely dispersed.  Despite these difficulties, the Italian Paratroopers linked up with Italian Partisans and created great difficulties for the enemy disrupting operations until the main land forces of the 8^thBritish and US 5^th Armies arrived, 72 hours later, 36 hours later than planned.

Plaques on the wall of the memorial remember each of the fallen Italian hero paratroopers.

Special thanks to the The Po River WWII Museum (Museo della Seconda Guerra Mondiale del Fiume Po) in Felonica (Mantova) for assistance with this memorial and to the ANPdI for creating the plaque commemorating American involvement in this Combined Allied operation.

Several Plaques written in Italian line the walls near the altar.  

The inscription in Italian on the Altar reads:

Ai Paracadutisti Caduti per la Patria

Which translates to:

To the Paratroopers fallen for their Country

The plaques on the wall remember the Italian units, and the missing and dead of the operation.

The local community plans to add a Plaque remembering the 64^th Troop Carrier Group on the 76^th Anniversary of the Operation. 

The new plaque will read in Italian: 

IN MEMORIA DEGLI EQUIPAGGI AMERICANI

DEGLI AEREI DA TRASPORTO DOUGLAS C-47

DEL 64TH TROOP CARRIER GROUP

Translation in English:

IN MEMORY OF THE AMERICAN CREWS OF 

THE DOUGLAS C-47 TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT

OF THE 64TH CARRIER GROUP