Over the past decade, author and U.S. Marine veteran Andrew Biggio interviewed more than 30 U.S. Army soldiers who fought on the Gothic Line as part of his research for his best-selling books The Rifle and The Rifle 2. Many were in their late 90s or older. But they had vivid, emotionally distraught recall of what happened from Sept. 1944 to April 1945 in the northern ItaIian Apennine mountains. As he describes in the podcast many of the soldiers had been on the front lines for almost two years - far longer than most other Allied Force troops fighting in other parts of Europe or in the Pacific theater. And as Allied Forces marched across northwest Europe towards Berlin, the Gothic Line U.S. Army troops attacking up heavily fortified mountain-top bunkers knew they were ``bait'' to keep German troops pinned down in Italy as the end neared in the six-year war. Morale was low and the death toll was high. Having survived North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio and Cassino, the mental and physical exhaustion drove many to either desert or even commit suicide. Upon the war's end and American veterans returned to the U.S. the country feted the heroes of the Normandy beaches, the Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima or Guadalcanal. But Gothic Line survivors were belittled by some fellow veterans who knew, like most Americans and Europeans, of the brutality and often futile task of combat on the Italian ``Forgotten Front.''

Biggio's work with U.S. WW II veterans on the Gothic Line in Italy and other theatres stems partly from his own military service. He has done tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and upon returning to civilian life he started projects to help wounded vets rehabilitate and adapt to civilian life. He currently resides in the Boston area and works in law enforcement. He is also the founder of Boston's Wounded Vet Run, which is an annual motorcycle ride honoring and supporting vets. His two books The Rifle and The Rifle 2 are available online or your local bookstore.