While 600,000 Italian Americans were required to Register under Enemy Alien Incredibly Strict Restrictions on their hours, occupations, possessions, etc, 700,000 Italian Americans were serving in in the US Military. Joe DiMaggio was one of those who served in the US Military,while his parents were forced to move and be restricted. The Highest Decorated Enlisted man in the Pacific Conflict was John Basilone. 

Brooklyn Eagle; by Vernon Parker; July 26, 2010 

The Brooklyn Eagle of July 26, 1943 reported on the reaction of Italian-Americans in Brooklyn and Manhattan when word was received here that the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had been forced to resign and had been arrested. King Victor Emmanuel of Italy summoned Mussolini to Quirinal Palace in Rome on July 25 and handed him a prepared letter of resignation, demanding that the dictator sign it immediately. When Mussolini refused, the King dismissed him and announced that Marshal Pietro Badoglio would head the new Italian government. Mussolini was immediately arrested as he left the palace and taken to Lake Bracciano, 75 miles north of Rome, where he was held in custody by Italian troops. 
The Eagle report of July 26 appears below in part: 
Italians Here Elated At Mussolini’s Ouster 
They Greet News Quietly as Manhattan’s Mulberry St. Area Stages Demonstration 
“Italian-Americans in Brooklyn are taking the ousting of Mussolini quietly, although they were very happy about it, and satisfied that Italy’s part in the war [WW II] would soon be over. 
“Police reported no demonstrations of any kind such as the impromptu block parties and parades which took place along Mulberry St. in Manhattan." 

Mayor Warns Italians
“With the knowledge that the present government under Marshal Badoglio has stated it would continue the war, Mayor  Fiorello LaGuardia warned the Italian people abroad in a special broadcast beamed to them last night that until the fascist party is tossed out, the United States and Great Britain will not stop fighting Italy. "In an earlier statement the Mayor had said that Italy would capitulate in a few days and that the Badoglio proclamation that his government would keep up the fight should not be taken seriously. 
“The Mulberry St. celebrations included rounds of free drinks and triumphant cries of ‘Italia e salvado’ " Italy is saved. Elsewhere, from Harlem to the crowded tenements of the lower East Side, there was also general elation." 

Bombing Of Rome a Factor
Count Carlo Sforza, who was Foreign Minister of Italy before Mussolini came to power was pleased with the Italian dictator’s downfall, calling it a "happy event for the political, moral and international future of Italy." The count claimed that Mussolini’s end came as a direct result of the bombing of Rome. On July 19, 1943, 1100 tons of bombs were dropped on Rome by 700 aircraft. In all raids on Italian cities during this period leaflets were dropped, urging an Italian surrender. 
The July 26 Eagle report continued: "A thunderous ovation was given Arturo Toscanini as the world famous conductor mounted the podium last night [7-25-43] to conduct a special war bond concert of the NBC Summer Symphony Orchestra. Toscanini, an avowed enemy of Mussolini, left his homeland because of his hatred for Fascism, which he didn’t hide. 
“From the Italian press [in NYC] came comments of satisfaction. Generoso Pope, publisher of Il Progresso, in an editorial published today, called Il Duce’s resignation the ‘logical and inevitable consequence of his betrayal of the Italian people." 
“One of the wildest demonstrations occurred at an anti-Fascist rally at Cooper Union, Astor Place and Cooper Square, when Representative Vito Marcantonio announced the news. Instantly the place became a bedlam with the audience putting up their fingers in the V salute." 
On September 12, 1943, Mussolini was rescued from Gran Sasso in the Abruzzi Mountains by a German parachute detachment led by Otto Skorzeny. The Germans had been trying to organize such an operation since Mussolini was arrested but he was never kept for long in one place. The operation was technically very difficult and executed with great daring. Hitler set Benito up as head of a Fascist puppet government in northern Italy. When the German government collapsed in April 1945, Mussolini was captured during an attempt to flee northern Italy with his mistress Claretta Petacci. They were tried in a summary court martial at which he pleaded, “Let me live and I will give you an empire." The couple was shot after a summary trial on April 28. Their bodies were then hung by the heels with two lesser corpses in a piazza in Milan. - Vernon Parker 

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