| Original caption: ‘American troops riding on crowded streets upon entering the city, Monreale, on the outskirts of Palermo, Sicily’ United States Army Headquarters Company, 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, entered Monreale on a Ford GPA ‘Seep.’ This amphibious 4 wheel drive version of the Willys-designed MB Jeep was not as successful as the 6 wheel drive version of the DUKW ‘Duck’ amphibious truck, because the Seep had lower freeboard. It was slower and heavy on land. It was popular enough iwht the Soviet Union that they put their own version into production. On July 22, 1943, the advance began on Palermo, with 3rd Platoon, 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, still in the Advance Guard of Combat Command B and the remainder of B Company in the front of the main body of 2nd Armored Division. On arrival near Palermo, Colonel Isaac D. White (March 6, 1901 – June 11, 1990), Commanding Officer, Combat Command B, gave Seventeeth Engineers the mission of making advance reconnaissance of 3 routes into the city. As the routes had not been previously travelled by friendly troops, the men expected to be fired on at any minute, but to the surprise of all, everyone met them with shouting and clapping of hands and clambered all over the vehicles. 2 of the routes were found to be blocked by large sections of the road blown out alongside the steep mountains. Palermo was taken this day by Combat Command A, but Combat Command B was ready to enter from the west, and bivouacked 3 miles northeast of Terracini for the next 3 days; during which the company filled in road blocks with the aid of Italian prisoners and removed more minefields. Photojournalist Robert Capa (October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) lost his accreditation with Collier’s Magazine, and thus his permission to move around combat areas, during the Sicilian Campaign. Capa joined the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division on Sicily, landing at Licata and locating the 504th Airborne Infantry on July 17. The next day, the 82nd was detailed to attack Palermo. In his book Slightly Out of Focus, Capa recounted his time in Monreale and the surrender of Palermo: “The Sicilian campaign turned out to be a twenty-one-day race. In the lead was the Italian Army. They were afraid not only of the Americans, but of the Germans too, and ran in every direction. The Germans were slower than the Italians, but they retreated steadily.” “Behind us all, pushing us relentlessly forward, General Patton’s tanks rumbled in the dust. In the course of things, I shot a great many exciting pictures. But the only way to get them censored and shipped was through the very Public Relations Office from which I was running. Besides, the only place I could ship them was the picture pool, and that wouldn’t help me a bit. The exposed rolls piled up in my bag and the chances of getting them published dwindled every day.” “In less than three weeks we reached our main objective. We were at the outskirts of Palermo. The Germans had withdrawn, and the remaining Italian forces didn’t insist on fighting. The jeep I was in followed the first tanks of the 2d Armored Division into the town.” “The road leading into the city was lined with tens of thousands of frantic Sicilians waving white sheets and homemade American flags with not enough stars and too many stripes. Everyone had a cousin in ‘Brook-a-leen.’” “I was unanimously pronounced a Siciliano by the cheering crowd Every member of the male population had to shake my hand, the older women had to kiss me, the younger ones filled the jeep with flowers and fruit. None of this exactly helped my picture taking.” “We arrived at the gates of Palermo without firing a shot. The lieutenant in charge of the tanks got in touch with headquarters by radio and asked for orders to enter the city. When headquarters found that there was no resistance in the town, they ordered us to stop and wait for the commanding general. We called headquarters unprintable names and waited. In a short while, the Provisional Corps commander, Major General Geoffrey Keyes [(October 30, 1888 – September 17, 1967)], arrived surrounded by aides and swarms of military police. The Military Police promptly took over and blocked off any further advance by tanks, soldiers, or war correspondents.” “General Keyes ordered the Military Police to bring forward a few of the celebrating Italian gendarmes. The gendarmes were produced.” “General Keyes said he didn’t give a damn about their innocence; all he wanted was the Italian general in command of Palermo. The gendarmes nodded and said, ‘Yes, yes,’ but did not move. The exasperated Keyes asked for an interpreter and I offered my services. I got the point over to the gendarmes somehow. I explained that the general wanted to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed and wanted the Italian general to announce the terms of surrender to the populace.” “The gendarmes nodded ‘Si, si,’ climbed into a jeep with a couple of Military Police, and took off toward the center of town.” “In fifteen minutes the jeep reappeared. Seated in the back, between the two beaming gendarmes, was a very unhappy Italian major general. General Keyes motioned the sweating Italian general into his command car and repeated his order to the MP’s not to let anyone through. He had a white flag hoisted on his car and it looked as if he was going to take Palermo without the Army.” “Here goes my surrender ceremony, I thought. But just as the car was about to leave, General Keyes turned toward me. ‘Interpreter, come along,’ he ordered.” “We drove up to the governor’s palace and dismounted in the courtyard. General Keyes demanded the immediate and unconditional surrender of the town and military district of Palermo. I translated it into French, the language I knew best, and hoped the Italian would understand me. He replied in perfect French and said that he would be only too glad to do so, but it was really impossible.” “He had already surrendered four hours earlier to an American infantry division that had entered the city from the opposite direction.” “General Keyes became impatient at the delay. ‘Stop that jabber-ing, soldier! I want unconditional surrender and I want it immediately!’” “I explained to the Italian that surrendering the second time ought to be much easier than the first. Besides, General Keyes was the corps commander, and would undoubtedly allow him to keep his orderly and personal belongings in the prisoners’ camp. The issue was won. He surrendered in French, Italian, and Sicilian, and asked whether he could keep his wife too. My translator’s job was done, and I went back to taking pictures. Later, when the surrender ceremony was over, I saw the Italian general being led away to prison-empty-handed and alone.” “The Army poured into Palermo. [Scripps-Howard newspaper correspondent] Ernie Pyle [(August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945)] was riding in the first press jeep. He waved at me and shouted: ‘You goddamn fired enemy alien, the whole Public Relations Office is after you!’” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0673.jpg |
| Image Size | 6.34 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 11180 x 7083 |
| Photographer | Robert Capa |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 22, 1943 |
| Location | Monreale |
| City | Palermo |
| State or Province | Sicily |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | International Center of Photography |
| Record Number | 2921.1992 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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