| The distinction of being the 1st unit into Rome goes to a special patrol composed of handpicked soldiers led by an officer from the 1st Special Service Force, Captain Taylor Mark Radcliffe (September 6, 1918 – April 1, 2012). Radcliffe was given 4 hours to get from Fort Benning, Georgia to join the 1st Special Service Force on July 18, 1942. A veteran of the Aleutian Campaign and Italy, he took command of 3rd Company, 3rd Regiment, 1st Special Service Force. After fighting at Monte La Difensa, Majo, and La Remetana, he was captured and beaten at Anzio. After torture, he escaped, recuperating at the hospital. Fearful of being sent to another unit, he went absent without leave to return to the 1st Special Service Force. Instead, he was tasked to lead the 1st assault patrol into Rome. Mounted in 18 jeeps and 2 M8 armored cars, the advance force would rush ahead into Rome for the liberation. Operation Buffalo, the initial main breakout from the Anzio beachhead, was preceded by a tremendous artillery barrage and naval gunfire at 0545 Hours on May 23. Both the 1st Special Service Force and the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team took part. Radcliffe’s primary concern was immediate reaction to German ambushes and roadblocks. The advance patrol departed II Corps headquarters at 1400 Hours on June 3, 1944. Evading German roadblocks, and other American task forces from rival units, Radcliffe quartered his patrol for the night in the Cinecitta movie studio complex off Via Tuscolana in the Appio Latino section of Rome. Radcliffe’s assault group, operating independently, was searching for the best and fastest way into the city. Just outside the city limits it came across a railway overpass prepared for demolition. The group’s rapid advance had apparently caught the enemy by surprise.The scouts quickly cut the demolition charge wires and slipped into Rome at 0600 Hours on June 4, 1944, using the Porta San Giovanni (“San Giovanni Gate”) on Via Tuscolana, part of the ancient Roman city wall. As they did so, the cameramen documented the event on film. They were the 1st Americans (and Canadians) to enter Rome. In this view, Radcliffe’s patrol is greeted by cheering Romans. Radcliffe is the soldier in the passenger’s seat of the jeep (the soldier in the center of the photograph with the rifle and the Italian hugging him). | |
| Image Filename | wwii0664.jpg |
| Image Size | 224.51 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1415 x 1116 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 4, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Rome |
| State or Province | Lazio |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | United States Army Center of Military History |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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