Yesterday we had our penultimate field trip day before we head home. During the course of the day we visited three different countries and saw a multitude of amazing sights.
We started the day by taking the train into Rome and heading to the Vatican City to attend the Wednesday papal audience. It was a really amazing experience and an estimated 70, 000 people showed up in St. Peter’s Square to hear the Pope speak about child protection and welfare. I really enjoyed the service and even got to see the Pope up close as he drove by in his “popemobile”.

After we left the Vatican, we headed to Anzio where we stopped and ate lunch before heading to the American World War II Memorial Cemetery. The cemetery is an American territory in Italy that was gifted to the United States after the war. Inside the cemetery, there over 7,000 American soldiers buried there who lost their lives during the Sicily to Rome portion of the Italian campaign of World War II. More soldiers had been buried there originally, however, many of their families decided to have them returned home and buried near family after the war.

During our tour of the cemetery, our tour guide, Veronica, brought us to a gravestone of an American who has close ties to the state of Alabama. It was the gravesite of Alwayne Dunlap of the 99th Fighter Squadron, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. It is an incredible connection and he had such a great story.

Overall, it was an incredible day and fortunately, we had nice weather for once. I think we all enjoyed the visit to both the Vatican and Anzio yesterday, but we’re also dreading the fact that it’s almost time for us to go home.
-Victoria Campbell