8th Replacement Depot
There is relatively little hard data on the 8th Replacement Depot in Italy. Most of my information on it came from Edward Snell who served in the 8th Replacement Depot in Italy in the winter of 1944/1945.
Edward Snell was born and raised in West Ishpeming and knew the Koski brothers quite well. He knew John Koski, but hadn't realized that John had gone through the 8th Replacement Depot while he was there.
Edward Snell provided significant background information on the 8th Replacement Depot including:
1. It was located in an old vineyard just outside Florence Italy. Following up with contacts in Italy, it seems that the area may now be an industrial park of some sort.
2. The replacements lived in tents, which were very cold, so they cut the tops off of jerry cans and burned twigs in them to keep warm. That was against regulations due to the fire hazard, so the men had to hide the cans before inspection each morning.
3. None of the replacements knew where they were going or when they might be sent to a combat unit. The men would line up each morning and a sergeant would read the list of men who had been assigned to other outfits. The men would climb into trucks and would not return. The other replacements would continue waiting until their turn came.
4. During the winter of 1944, not many replacements were needed, so many of the replacements spent weeks or even months in the replacement depot. As the offensives began in the spring of 1945, more replacements were needed and replacements spent less time waiting for an assignment.
Copyright 2007 by Dan Oja