June 4, 1944: The Liberation of Rome

June 4, 1944: Allied troops liberate Rome, the capital of Italy, one of the nations of the Axis.

In 1922, Benito Mussolini took advantage of Italy's post-World War I chaos, and had his Fascists make their "March On Rome." For 21 years, "Il Duce" (The Leader) ruled the land of Garibaldi, Leonardo and Vivaldi with a fist more iron than ever imagined by Caligula, Commodus or Diocletian. George Seldes, an American journalist who covered his entire career (and lived to be 104), wrote a book about him titled Sawdust Caesar.

The reputation of Italy having a weak army -- which both Mussolini and Giuseppe Garibaldi had taken advantage of in the preceding 80 years -- still held, as British and American troops kicked them out of North Africa, and then invaded Sicily, and finally the Italian mainland. On July 25, 1943, his own Grand Council of Fascism passed a vote of no confidence in him, and King Victor Emmanuel III, who had appointed him Prime Minister, dismissed him and ordered his arrest.

But that didn't mean that the liberation of Italy was easy. The country's mountainous terrain made progress slower than was hoped. On February 10, 1944, the U.S. won the Battle of Anzio at a high cost. Among the 7,000 men killed were 4 from my hometown of East Brunswick, New Jersey: Brothers Lawrence and William Kossman, Constantine Haransky and Henry Jensen. Just 7 days later, another E.B. resident, Adam Albrecht, would be killed while fighting in Italy.

The Allies rolled into Rome on June 4, 1944, and, to borrow a phrase that would haunt later American leaders, were welcomed as liberators. Among them was an Army stenographer from The Bronx, Staff Sergeant George Goldberg -- my grandfather.

Within a year, Mussolini was dead, and so was Adolf Hitler.

As big a story as this was, it wasn't the biggest war story of the week.

Also on June 4, 1944: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captured the German submarine U-505, marking the first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th Century.

A neat story, and a nice victory... but that wouldn't be the biggest war story of the week, either. Two days later was D-Day.

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June 4, 1944 was a Sunday. Michelle Phillips, singer with The Mamas & The Papas, and later an actress, was born.

This being a Sunday, and with wartime travel restrictions in effect, it should surprise no one that all the games were doubleheaders:

* The New York Yankees split with the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Yankees won the opener, 6-4. Hal Kleine began the top of the 11th inning by hitting Johnny Lindell with a pitch. Joe Page, later better known as a reliever but having gone the distance in this game, tried to bunt Lindell over, and both of them reached base. Snuffy Stirnweiss singled the runners over, loading the bases with nobody out. Bud Metheny brought Lindell home on a sacrifice fly, Larry Rosenthal walked, and Nick Etten's groundout scored Page.

The Indians won the nightcap, 4-3. Allie Reynolds was the winning pitcher. After the 1946 season, Joe DiMaggio told Yankee management to get Reynolds, and they traded Joe Gordon for him, in a trade that worked out great for both teams.

* The New York Giants were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Polo Grounds, 9-4 and 7-4. Giants player-manager Mel Ott went 1-for-8 with a walk over the 2 games.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost the 1st game to the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at Ebbets Field. The 2nd game was tied 8-8 after 10 innings, when it was called due to a Sunday curfew. (They'd had lights since 1938, and the weather wasn't an issue. The curfew was.)

* The Cincinnati Reds swept the Boston Braves, 1-0 and 7-3 at Braves Field in Boston.

* There was a split at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1st game, 4-2. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2nd game, 1-0. Bill Lee (no relation to the later Red Sox pitcher of the same name) pitched a 2-hit shutout. Over the 2 games, Stan Musial went 1-for-9, although he had an RBI.

* There was a split at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, later renamed Tiger Stadium. The Detroit Tigers won the 1st game, 2-1. The Boston Red Sox won the 2nd game, 5-1.

* The Chicago White Sox swept the Washington Senators at Comiskey Park in Chicago, 6-5 and 9-1. The Senators led the 1st game 5-0 going to the top of the 4th, but blew it, and Mike Tresh's sacrifice fly won it in the bottom of the 10th.

* There was a split at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Philadelphia Athletics won the 1st game, 4-3. The St. Louis Browns won the 2nd game, 4-3. Jack Kramer pitched 3 innings of relief, and won his own game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th.