Facing the main entrance of the church on the right side outer wall, about 10 feet off the ground.

There are three inscribed white marble plaques about 18 x 12 inches.

The top plaque remembers the fallen both civilian and military during the Second World War. 

The middle plaque remembers a solider of the 86^th Infantry Regiment, 10^th Mountain Division, John Parker Compton, who fell while liberating the town.  

The bottom plaque remembers the 10^th Mountain division liberating Iola on March 3, 1945. 

After the war, the parents of John Parker Compton visited Iola and funding the repair of the destroyed church, and have maintained a relationship with the town through their foundation.

From the Compton Foundation:

Shortly after the United States entered World War II, all four of the Compton children chose to serve their country. Dan commanded a Navy PT Boat in the Pacific. Jim, a Marine Lieutenant, led his platoon in the liberation of Iwo Jima. Ann served in a Navy hospital as a social worker with the American Red Cross. John Parker, the youngest, left Princeton University after his freshman year to train with the 10th Mountain Division on skis, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He fought with the 10th in the Italian Alps. Near the small village of Iola in the mountains northwest of Florence, a sniper’s bullet ended his promising young life.

The untimely death of John Parker, the tragic loss of so many young people, and the impact of this devastating war on the whole world moved Dorothy and Randolph to establish a charitable trust in 1946. The primary mission they set for the trust was to build the foundations for peace and to help prevent another world war.

Shortly after the end of World War II, Dorothy and Randolph visited the village of Iola and made friends with the village priest and local residents. Later they helped make possible the rebuilding of their bombed-out church. The parish installed a plaque in John Parker’s memory at the entrance to the church which commemorates his death and the bond formed between his parents and the people of Iola.

The top plaque is written in Italian and reads:

+ A GLORIA DI DIO

E A PERENNE MEMORIA DEI SOLDATI

E DEI CIVILI CADUTI SU QUESTI MONTI

NELLA GRANGE GUERRA 1940-1945

FU RICOSTRUITA QUESTA CHIESA NE

L’ANNO SANTO 1950

The translation in English:

+TO THE GLORY OF GOD

AND THE ETERNAL MEMORY OF THE SOLDIERS

AND CIVILIANS WHO FELL IN THESE MOUNTIANS

IN THE GREAT WAR OF 1940-1945

THIS CHURCH WAS RECONSTRUCTED IN THE 

HOLY YEAR OF 1950

The middle plaque is written in English and Italian.  The English reads:

IN MEMORY OF

JOHN PARKER COMPTON

(PRIVATE FIRST CLASS US 86^TH REG. 10^TH MOUNT. DIV.)

KILLED IN ACTION AT IOLA- MARCH 3, 1945

The bottom plaque is written in English and Italian.  The English reads:

The people of Iola gratefully dedicate this plaque

In commemoration of the 60^th anniversary

Of the liberation of Iola of Montese

By the 10^th Mountain Division (U.S.A.)

On March 3, 1945

Iola, July 24, 2005

COMUNE DI MONTESE

(COMMUNITY OF MONTESE)

PARROCCHIO DI IOLA                              GRUPPO CULTURALE “IL TREBBO”

(PARISH OF IOLA)                           (CULTURAL GROUP “IL TREBBO”)