{"id":67614,"date":"2022-07-17T14:09:59","date_gmt":"2022-07-17T14:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:30:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:30:38","slug":"101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Billy Earl Kirby\u2019s own blood helped give Italy\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalww2museum.org\/war\/articles\/destruction-of-monte-cassino-1944\" target=\"_blank\">Rapido River<\/a> its second name, \u201cBloody River.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby, a native of Osage, Texas, was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2022\/04\/26\/jewish-troops-who-died-in-world-war-ii-finally-receive-star-of-david-headstones\/\" target=\"_blank\">World War II<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJan. 21, 1944. I will never forget that,\u201d the 101-year-old Kirby said from his room at The Landing, an independent living facility in Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was the <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalvmm.org\/battle-of-monte-cassino\/\" target=\"_blank\">battle of Cassino<\/a>. It was probably one of the biggest battles in Italy,\u201d added Kirby, who formerly lived in Zebulon. \u201cThere have been a lot of papers, a lot of books about it. They called it the Bloody River and so forth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby, a member of Company K, 143 Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, was a machine gun section leader in the rifle company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur general didn\u2019t want to cross the river at the spot that [Lt. Gen.] Mark Clark picked. He said it would be totally impossible because it was so heavily defended,\u201d Kirby recalled. \u201cAcross the river was just as flat as could be over the fence. He wanted to cross further up river where the river was not as deep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/08\/24\/us-wwii-veteran-reunites-with-italians-he-saved-as-children\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WWIIVetItaly.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US WWII veteran reunites with Italians he saved as children<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">It was a happy ending to a story that could easily have been a tragedy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the soldiers went across where they were ordered to cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s where we were slaughtered,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cThis was about the only battle in World War II that I know of where there was a truce. Germans requested for us to come over and pick up our dead. Our division was about destroyed. Out of our company of 200 men, 27 survived. Our National Guard from Texas was destroyed. My machine gun section, the last battle I went into, I didn\u2019t have a man who was there to start with. I had lost them all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some 1,330 Americans were killed or wounded and 770 were captured, while German casualties amount to 64 killed and 179 wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was one of the U.S. Army\u2019s largest defeats during the war, Kirby said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby was shot in the shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt paralyzed my arm. It severed the nerve,\u201d he said, gesturing with his left arm because some 78 years after his injury, he still can barely raise his right arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was night when I was wounded, and I guess I was losing so much blood and sleepy,\u201d Kirby recalled. \u201cI just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of Kirby\u2019s fellow surviving soldiers came to his aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHow we got back across that river, I don\u2019t know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby was in the hospital for two years. The first six months were in North Africa and the last 18 months were in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was in a body cast for 18 months, my arms like this. It was the only kind of cast that would hold it,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how they saved my arm. I thought I would lose it. We had some pretty good doctors back then. They did a lot of experimenting. They tried things that they wouldn\u2019t try. That\u2019s where they learned a lot in World War II.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby still doesn\u2019t have much use of his right arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can\u2019t raise it up. It shakes all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I can touch something, I can stop it from shaking. I don\u2019t feel anything. The nerve is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Somebody asked Kirby if he was scared during his time in the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI only got scared in World War II one time. I got scared when I got on the boat and I stayed scared until I got off coming home,\u201d he said. \u201cThere were some times I was more scared than others. I wouldn\u2019t say we were scared as much in combat. You were careful. But the first time, I was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby said he and his fellow soldiers had great camaraderie and for many years, the survivors would gather for reunions at both the company and regiment level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were extremely close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When they got together, they would never discuss the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe only time we ever talked about the war was the funny things that the happened in war, but we never talked about the fighting,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t want to bring that up to your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/military-honor\/black-military-history\/2018\/02\/14\/how-the-buffalo-soldiers-helped-turn-the-tide-in-italy-during-world-war-ii\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/african-americans-wwii-020.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">How the \u2018Buffalo Soldiers\u2019 helped turn the tide in Italy during World War II<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Soldiers with the 92nd Infantry Division served with distinction shortly after the military overturned a ban on black soldiers serving in combat.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After his discharge from the Army as a staff sergeant in January 1946, Kirby went on to work for the Veterans Administration for several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1960, the Bronze Star recipient went to work on veterans\u2019 issues for the U.S. House of Representatives. He remained in that role until he retired in 1977.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby was elected national commander for the Disabled American Veterans in 1988.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirby called war \u201cthe most horrible thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can\u2019t understand why politicians want to start a war, why human beings want to start a war. It\u2019s their egos,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople like dictators, they are the ones you have got to worry about. I don\u2019t think any democratic countries will ever want to go to war. You get more civilians killed than you get military people killed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2014, a quote from Billy Kirby was unveiled on the walls of the new American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI shall recall with respect those who fought with me and were scarred with bullets, left limbless by bombs. I shall recall with humility those who were stronger and braver than me, and I shall recall the celebration and joy our nation\u2019s heritage of selfless sacrifice and commitment to the common good,\u201d Kirby is quoted as saying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billy Earl Kirby was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in World War II.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":102754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,19],"tags":[8516,8456],"coauthors":[6678],"class_list":["post-67614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans","tag-italy","tag-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"73HVIPGVBNGFLGLE3ES6SKWI4A","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Billy Earl Kirby was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in World War II.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Billy Earl Kirby was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in World War II.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-17T14:09:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T12:30:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Drew C. Wilson, The Wilson Times\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Drew C. Wilson, The Wilson Times\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-07-17T14:09:59+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-20T12:30:38+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 929,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"keywords\": [\n\t                \"italy\",\n\t                \"veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy - Navy Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-07-17T14:09:59+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-20T12:30:38+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Billy Earl Kirby was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in World War II.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/17\\\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Veterans\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/veterans\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"veterans\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Navy Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy - Navy Times","description":"Billy Earl Kirby was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in World War II.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy","og_description":"Billy Earl Kirby was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in World War II.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/","og_site_name":"Navy Times","article_published_time":"2022-07-17T14:09:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-20T12:30:38+00:00","author":"Drew C. Wilson, The Wilson Times","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Drew C. Wilson, The Wilson Times","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy","datePublished":"2022-07-17T14:09:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T12:30:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/"},"wordCount":929,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg","keywords":["italy","veterans"],"articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/","name":"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy - Navy Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2022-07-17T14:09:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T12:30:38+00:00","description":"Billy Earl Kirby was a 23-year-old Army infantryman when he was injured in one of the fiercest battles between American and German forces in World War II.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/07\/17\/101-year-old-veteran-recalls-world-war-ii-battle-in-italy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/","ad_zone":"veterans"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"101-year-old veteran recalls World War II battle in Italy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","name":"Navy Times","description":"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization","name":"Navy Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","caption":"Navy Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Navy Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22196653711280.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67614"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98165,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67614\/revisions\/98165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67614"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=67614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}