On the left side of the roadway at the airport entrance.

The memorial is a brass inscribed plaque mounted onto a pedestal about 4 feet high.

The memorial remembers the Crew of a C-47 and the SAS Commandos who were part of Operation Pomegranate, a raid against German forces in support of the pending Operation Shingle, the Anzio Landings. The Crew of the C-47 perished in a crash on Monte Tezio after the SAS Commandos were dropped at the drop zone.

The C-47 Crew consisted of:

Nowotny, Raymond A ~ Lt. Col, Pilot, CA

McNeil, J J, Jr ~ Maj, Co-Pilot, TX

Piatak, John, Jr ~ Capt, Navigator, NY

Nocentini, Joseph L ~ Capt, Surgeon, PA

Holmes, Ross A ~ T/Sgt, Engineer, OK

Singer, Saul ~ Sgt, Radio Operator, NY

The C-47 originated from the Gioia, Italy Airfield.

From the OSS Website:

Operation Pomegranate was a six-man raid in support of Operation Shingle (Anzio Landings) by the Special Air Service designed to be conducted against German aircraft based on the Italian airfield of Sant'Egidio, near Perugia, on the night of 12 January 1944. The commandos, aboard a C-47 of the USAAF, made their parachute jump on the slopes of Monte Tezio to the east of Lake Trasimeno, after which the plane on which they had been travelling crashed into the mountainside killing the entire crew.

Although all six paratroopers landed safely, the group split up after being challenged by a German sentry as they crossed the Tiber. Lance Corporal J. Malloy and Privates T. Cox, A. Todd, and S. McCormick did not take part in the attack on the airfield but rejoined their units down in Apulia, leaving Major Tony Widdrington and Lieutenant Jimmy Quentin Hughes to go ahead and reach the target, planting bombs on seven airplanes and destroying three. One of the remaining bombs exploded while being made safe, killing Widdrington and temporarily blinding Hughes in one eye. Hughes was taken to the German military hospital in Perugia, and was destined to be shot as a commando, but he enlisted the help of a German doctor with whom he struck up a friendship and managed to acquire the status of Prisoner of War, after which he was transferred to another military hospital in Florence. After escaping with two others from a POW transport train bound for Germany, he made his way south and rejoined the allied lines

See also this site, Memorial: Operation Pomegranate C-47 (41-18681) Crash Site Marker (Site Monte Tezio) for more on this incident.

The inscription on the plaque is written in Italian and reads:

OPERAZIONE POMEGRANATE

(raid contro l'aeroporto di Perugia 12-20 gennaio 1944)

in memoria dell'equipaggio del C-47 USAAF matr. 41-18681 8° Squadron 62° Troop Carrier Group

precipitato su Monte Tezio il 12 Gennaio 1944

(Image of a C-47 Skytrain)

Ten. Col Raymond Alvin Nowotny DFC, Cap. J.J. McNeil Jr. Cap. John Piatak Jr., Cap. Joseph L. Nocentini, Serg. A Ross, Serg. Saul Singer

(Symbol of the 2^nd Regiment SAS)

In memoria della pattuglia del 2° SAS Regiment

Magg. Edward Antony Fitzherbert Widdrington MC (01/03/1914 - 20/01/1944)

Ten. Jimmy Quentin Hughes MC OBE (28/02/1920 - 08/04/2004)

Unione Nazionale Ufficiali in Congedo d'Italia Sezione di Perugia e Associazione Culturale Monti del Tezio

12 Gennaio 2014

The translation in English:

OPERATION POMEGRANATE

(raid against the Perugia Airport on January 12, 1944)

In memory of rhe cre of the C-47 USAAF Serial # 41-18681 of the 8^th Squadron, 62^nd Troop Carrier Group

That crashed on Monte Tezio on January 12, 1944

(Image of a C-47 Skytrain)

In memory of the 2^nd Regiment SAS Team

Lt Col Raymond Alvin Nowotny DFC, Cap. J.J. McNeil Jr. Cap. John Piatak Jr., Cap. Joseph L. Nocentini, Serg. A Ross, Serg. Saul Singer

(Symbol of the 2^nd Regiment SAS)

Maj. Edward Antony Fitzherbert Widdrington MC (01/03/1914 - 20/01/1944)

LT. Jimmy Quentin Hughes MC OBE (28/02/1920 - 08/04/2004)

National Retired Officer Union, Perugia Section

Monte Tezio Culturale Assocation

12 January 2014