Things I didn't know

This could threaten to  be the longest blog post in history, but it won't be.

I thought I knew a lot about WWII 

but I did not know that the Allies 

bombed the shit out of Rome...

75 years ago today!

The bombing of Rome in World War II took place on several occasions in 1943 and 1944, primarily by Allied and to a smaller degree by Axis aircraft, before the city was invaded by the Allies on June 4, 1944. Pope Pius XII was initially unsuccessful in attempting to have Rome declared an open city, through negotiations with President Roosevelt via Archbishop (later Cardinal) Francis Spellman. Rome was eventually declared an open city on August 14, 1943 (a day after the last Allied bombing) by the defending forces.

Carpet bombing a Roman Rail Yard

The bombings of the "Eternal City" were controversial for several reasons. Rome had been the capital city of Italy for around 70 years, but large parts of the city were more than 2,500 years old. The neutral Vatican City sat within Rome, and the Vatican also owned many churches and other buildings outside its territory but within Rome city limits. Many Americans were against a major destruction of Rome. However, the British War Cabinet refused to see bombing Rome as a crime against humanity. The first bombardment occurred on July 19, 1943 and was carried out by 500 American bombers which dropped 1,168 tons of bombs. The entire working class district of San Lorenzo was destroyed, and 3,000 Italian civilians were killed in the raids over five residential/railway districts. The military targets were few, the largest Stazione Termini contained a marshaling yard, railways and industries that manufactured steel, textile products and glass. Winston Churchill approved the bombardment by the words "I agree,

How it was reported back home.

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I'm only mentioning this because today is one of those few days in the year when virtually nothing happened one this date in History.

One thing that DID happen way back in 1990 was this:

It's Jessica Simpson's Birthday today!

I know, she looks like shit now, but man, when she burst on the scene at 19, she was smokin' hot.

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The last thing she said to me...

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I'm in.

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