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WWII 32nd Station Hospital | WWII Africa to Caserta Italy
| Willard O. Havemeier WWII
ITALY
AND CASERRTA
NAPLES
CASERTA, ITALY
On Guard
Soldier standing on alert at the railroad
station in Caserta, Italy, apparently shortly after this
area was taken from the German army. The sign on the
pole says Caserta. It is in this town we operated
our 32nd Station Hospital for almost two years in support
of U.S. 5th Army operations.
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THE ROYAL PALACE AT CASERTA
The Caserta Royal Palace in December,
1943, from the highway outside our hospital gate. Major
changes were made in this area in past years. When I
visited this area in1998, I found that the highway no longer
runs right up to the Palace; it makes a right turn about two
blocks before the Palace. See the historical background
immediately below.
The Royal Palace Complex was taken over by the U.S. 5th Army
which made its headquarters here from 1943 to 1945; it is
here where the German surrender was signed after Germany was
defeated. The Royal Palace at Caserta was built during the
reign of the Bourbon King, Charles III, King of Naples and
Sicily, during the eighteenth century. Italy was not
a unified country at this time. The palace was begun in 1752
by the Roman architect, Luigi Vanvitelli, and has over 1000
rooms. Charles wealthy father, Charles V of Spain, provided
the money, since the royal family decided that the palace
at Naples was too close to the sea, making it vulnerable to
attack. This was a period of many wars. It was originally
planned to make the palace more beautiful than Versailles;
however, difficulties were encountered, and the palace was
never fully completed. The construction was under the famous
minister Tanucci. In 1772 the building was ready and
King Ferdinand I came into residence. The money for
building was exhausted, and the four towers planned for the
corners of the building were never completed. The surrounding
park is of massive scale, with fountains, statues and ornamental
waterworks. Plans for a canal to the sea along the present
highway to Naples were also abandoned. The massive park surrounded
the palace and was exceptionally beautiful with its many statues,
fountains and waterworks.
Hospital Area from the
Air
Background, upper left: The Royal Palace of Caserta, at the end of
the tree-lined avenue, taken in 1944. Many more pictures
of this great palace will follow; some I took in September,
1998, when my wife and I visited my old hospital area.
I have outlined the buildings which housed the 32nd Station
Hospital while we operated here from December, 1943, to September,
1945. There are two parking lots for military vehicles,
one on the left and the other to the right of the highway
(bordered by the large trees). Note that the vehicles
are parked in straight rows, military style. Half way
up the picture on the right, I have marked the ends of two
runways of Marcinese airport where bombers like B-17's &
B-24's, British Spitfire fighter planes operate
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