In last years of World War II, Italian POWs built a church of their own in Chambersburg, Pa

During the latter stages of World War II, thousands of Italian soldiers were captured by the Allies in North Africa and Sicily. They were sent as prisoners of war to various locations such as England, India, South Africa and the United States.

A total of 52,000 Italian POWs were distributed around 21 camps in 18 states of the United States. In these camps they were organized into Italian service units which worked to provide munitions and equipment to the American war effort. Most gladly collaborated with the United States and joined in the war effort against Germany and Japan. They provided essential help that helped defeat the enemies. Their story is now beginning to be recognized in articles, a book, and a documentary.

The Church of Peace in Chambersburg, Pa., was built in 50 days by Italian POWs in May of 1945. | PHOTO BY GABRIEL MARCELLA

On Sept. 6, the documentary “Fedelta, Soldier, Prisoner” debuted at the Capitol Theater in Chambersburg, Pa. It gives an account of 1,231 Italian POWs who were interned at Letterkenny Army Depot between 1943 and 1945. The Depot is a two-hour drive west of Philadelphia, in rural Franklin County. The film was made by Steven Mancini, an Italian American from Pittsburgh. It was later shown in Rome and Milano.

Mancini, professor at Robert Morris University, served for 20 years in the U.S. military. Mancini loves Italian culture and wanted to do justice to the story of the Italian POWs. The film has been entered into the 2024 Montreal Independent Film Festival.

The Italians wore Army uniforms, had good health care, and ate well. They organized soccer games, and were given latitude to visit places such as Philadelphia. The Italian-American community of central Pennsylvania embraced them, visiting them, bringing them food and welcoming them into their homes. Romance also flourished, and some of the soldiers came back after the war to marry Italian-American girls that they had met.

Descendants of these marriages came together at Dickinson College in the Fall of 2018 to celebrate the publication of the book by Alan Perry and Flavio Conti, “Italian Prisoners of War in Pennsylvania: Allies on the Home Front, 1944-1945.” Professor Perry teaches Italian at Gettysburg College. Conti is an Italian scholar who writes on Italian immigration. One of the Italian POWs, Alfredo Tonolo, later taught as a professor at Bloomsburg University.

The soldiers left a remarkable legacy of friendship and creativity that will survive for a long time. Some of the soldiers were carpenters and masons, notably master mason Sgt. Major Giuliano Orzali of Tuscany. Using locally available materials they built a church where they could worship and re-create a semblance of Italian culture. Tradition holds that Orzali was so nostalgic for home that the commander recommended that they build a church. Pvt. 1^st Class Aldo Lorenzi noted in memoirs: “We were missing one thing: a church. They gave us permission to build one, but only with second-hand discarded material, and so we started off with great enthusiasm without paying attention to the labor and hours of work needed … On 13 May ’45, after only 50 days of hard work, everything was done and what our eyes beheld was a splendid church in pure Italian style.”

Note the Italianate style reminiscent of Florence, Italy. The church has witnessed various visits and celebrations, including delegations of descendants and dignitaries from Italy and the United States. In 1945, Monsignor (later Cardinal) Amleto Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate to the United States, celebrated Mass and consecrated the church. It is now called the Church of Peace. A piece of the Twin Towers of the Sept. 11 tragedy has been placed next to the church, to represent the triumph of good over evil. In Italy the Associazione per la Memoria dei Prigionieri a Letterkenny keeps alive the memories and the friendships between Italy and the United States. 

Born and raised in Italy, Gabriel Marcella is retired professor and Distinguished Fellow at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. He has written extensively on national security and Latin American affairs for the policy and academic communities. Reach him at gabrielmarcella1@gmail.com.