Resources for braided in Fire
In the decades-long process of researching Braided in Fire, author Solace Wales has written articles and assembled a trove supplemental materials related to the December 26, 1944 battle in Sommocolina, Italy. Supplemental book materials for readers are listed below. Additional resources are also provided for those wishing to learn more about the history and the people chronicled in Braided in Fire.
Book Resources
An ExceRPt
“Because of [Wales’] gracious literary style, she vividly captures the ways in which the African-American soldiers’ and the Italians’ of Sommocolonia lives became intertwined. The book breaks new ground.” Read an excerpt from the book online.
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Photos from the Book
Photographs documenting various events and people tied to the WWII battle—the Italian peasants of Sommocolonia and the African-American infantrymen of the 366th Infantry Regiment—are included in Braided in Fire’s photo gallery.
Braided in Fire’s Photograph Gallery →
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Long NOtes
Braided in Fire is the result of decades of extensive research and interviews conducted by the author, Solace Wales. Additional information is available in this long version of the Notes included in the book.
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Bibliography
Explore additional readings surrounding the 366th Infantry Regiment, the villagers and partisans of Sommocolonia, and the terrible battle that claimed so many lives and nearly destroyed the village on December 26, 1944.
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MAPS
View maps detailing Allied and Axis positions on the Gothic Line leading up to, and during, December 26, 1944 when the village of Sommocolonia became the center of a significant WWII battle chronicled in the book.
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John Fox Was Not a Buffalo Soldier
Lt. John Fox and his fellow members of the 366th Infantry Regiment did not become Buffalo Soldiers when their regiment was “attached” for four months to the 92nd Infantry ‘Buffalo Division’ at the end of November 1944. The 366th men never wore the Buffalo badge.
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Beware of Misinformation
Most sites on the internet, military histories and other sources of information regarding the Sommocolonia battle of December 26, 1944 are full of errors. Solace Wales corrects the mistakes in relating the story in Braided in Fire, and she proves in the book’s Afterword that she is correcting the record.
Additional Resources
Photographs
Explore this collection of photographs capturing the people and the places in the book.
Photos Tied to Braided in Fire →
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Research & Articles
Dive more deeply into the history, the people, the culture, and more with these in-depth materials.
La Mulattiera →
The Dead →
Mistreatment of the 366th Regiment →
Prominent Veterans of the 366th →
Racist 92nd Performance Review →
John Fox Was Not a Buffalo Soldier →
Beware of Misinformation →
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Interviews
An annotated list of interviews by the author with the Italians and Americans connected to the historical events in the book.
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Related Links
A list of websites offering online resources and information related to the book.