Today in World War II History—March 17, 1944
Sunday, March 17, 2024 by Sarah Sundin
“Félix Éboué—Governor-General Fighting French Africa—Scholar, Statesman, Soldier” by Charles Alston for US Office of War Information, 1943 (US National Archives: 535672)
80 Years Ago—Mar. 17, 1944: In Cassino, Italy, New Zealanders take western part of town and the train station, and assault German strongholds in hotels.
Félix Éboué, Governor-General of French Equatorial Africa, dies of a heart attack in Cairo, age 60; he was the first person of Black African descent to be appointed to a high office in the French colonies.
Ruins of Continental Hotel in Cassino, Italy, 1944 (US Army Center of Military History)
