In November 1942, following the Allies’ successful invasion of North Africa, over 51,000 Italian prisoners of war were sent to the United States to POW camps. In September 1943, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was imprisoned and a new government under General Pietro Badoglio was formed. This new government declared war on Germany on October 13, 1943, and Americans began to see the Italian POWs as potential allies.
Beginning in February 1944, the United States Army Service Corps offered the Italian POWs in the United States the opportunity to join what came to be known as Italian Service Units. The men who volunteered were given jobs, monetary compensation, and some freedom of movement. Prisoners signed forms of allegiance to the new Badoglio government in Italy and were “screened” for Fascist tendencies in order to join the Italian Service Unit program.
Of the 51,000 Italian POWS being held in the United States at the time, over 45,000 joined the Service Units and were sent to places with a shortage of labor manpower across the United States. The remaining 5,000 who did not volunteer or who were deemed to be pro-Fascist were moved to isolated camps in Texas and Arizona.
Each unit had 40 to 250 men, with an Italian officer as their commander. Italian Service Units worked with both military and civilian personnel. The units supported agriculture, hospitals, Army depots, seaports, and Army training centers. The units were given American uniforms with Italian Service Unit insignia and badges. The above photo shows an Italian Service unit salvaging lumber for the war effort.
The Italian Service Units accounted for over 90 million-man days of labor in the United States from 1943 to 1945. The programs saved the United States Government an estimated $230 million. The volunteers in the Italian Service Units also freed up American soldiers, who would have performed supporting roles, to serve in combat. As an acknowledgment of their service, Italian Service Unit members were offered the chance to become U.S. citizens and stay in the country. Thousands took the government up on their offer.
