Off via Casale about 100 meters from the roadway, on the right just after Casale from Zavattarello.

The memorial is a “Garden of Memories” which includes 7 large stones about 3 feet high, each with an inscribed brass plaque attached to each, representing each of the crew killed in the crash.  The site also includes 3 informational panels.

The monument was dedicated in 2017; another plaque is located in the town of Zavattarello (See this website, Site: Zavattarello; C-47 (42 100954) Crash Memorial for more on this incident).

Background: The Douglas C-47 Skytrain “Gooney Bird” (42-100954) was assigned to the 16^th Troop Carrier Squadron, 64^th Troop Transport Group, 12^th Air Force.   During the night of February 22/23, 1945, the plane flying from the Rosignano-Airdrome (Livorno), Italy,  with an international crew of five Americans and two British (Royal Army Service Corps, 352 General Transport Company) were on a mission to resupply (known as Operation Peedunk) the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) Operation Pee Dee mission led by Captain Les Vanoncini and the Partisan forces he supported.  The mission of Operation Pee Dee was to cooperate with the British SOE to assist partisans in preventing passage of German troops retreating north through the Liguria region of Northern Italy. Sometime during the night of 22/23 February, after the air re-supply, the C-47 crashed on the slope of Monte Calenzone killing all seven crew members.  (Per Missing Aircraft Report {MACR}12987)

The Crew Members included:

ROBERT E. WALLIN, Pilot, 1LT

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

DONALD R. FAULL, Co-Pilot, 2LT

Angels Camp, California, U.S.A.

LLOYD C. POOLE, Navigator, 1LT

Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.

JOHN V. RUPNIK, Crew Chief, SGT

Ironwood, Michigan, U.S.A.

RICHARD J. PERSYK, Radio Operator, SGT

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

DAVID C. SAYNOR, Driver

Great Britain

EDWARD J. FORD, Driver

Great Britain

The memorial includes an informational sign and seven upright rocks

The text on the rocks is written in English:

ROBERT E. WALLIN

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

DONALD R. FAULL

Angels Camp, California, U.S.A.

LLOYD C. POOLE

Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.

JOHN V. RUPNIK

Ironwood, Michigan, U.S.A.

RICHARD J. PERSYK

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

DAVID C. SAYNOR

Great Britain

EDWARD J. FORD

Great Britain

A large informational panel is written in Italian and reads:

Giardino della Memoria

Questo lougo e dedicato ai 7 aviatori delle Forze Alleate

5 statiuntesi  e 2 inglese

del aero Douglas C-47 (42-100954)

che cade la sera del 22 Febraio 1945

alle falde del Monte Calenzone.

Il C-47 stava lanciando aiuti ai partigiani

Che nella zona combattevano I nazi-fascisiti

The translation in English:

Garden of Memories

At this location 7 Allied Aviators

5 Americans and 2 English

on a Douglas C-47 (42-100954)

crashed the night of 22 February 1945

on the slopes of Monte Calenzone

while dropping military assistance to the partisans 

who were fighting the nazi-facsists

Other informational signs include great detail about Partisan and OSS activities in the area during WW2.