2379 - Genoa, Liguria, Italy

Erika sent me a card from Vernazza, a beautiful coast city on the Italian Riviera. It has no car traffic and claims to be one of the "truest fishing villages" on the Riviera.

The postage stamp is what interested me the most. It commemoratesthe 75th anniversary of Operation Shingle - the codename for the invasion of Italy by American, British, and Canadian soldiers at Anzio. It was led by American Major-General John P Lucas of the US Fifth Division.

German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring was prepared for the invasion and put everything into a defensive ring that hemmed in the allies for a month. General Lucas was then replaced by Major-General Lucian Truscott. The new goal was to go straight to Rome once they broke through Kesselring's defense.

The allies capture Roma on 4 June 1944. Kesselring fought his way north, making it difficult for the allies to continue. Kesselring was fighting to the Gothic Line, where he would prepare a defensive position against further allied gains.

During the campaign, 7000 allied soldiers were killed, with 36 000 wounded or missing. The German side lost 5000 men, with 30 500 wounded, and 4500 taken prisoner.

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3584 - Blaine, Minnesota, United States of America

The sender was in Las Vegas recently and bought this card from The Mob Museum. The Mob Museum, officially known as the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is located in downtown Las Vegas. It open in 2012. It features artifacts, stories, and the history of organized crime in the United States, but also the actions and initiatives by law enforcement to prevent such crimes. The museum is found at the former Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse, which was built in 1933. The quote on this card was from John Gotti. John Gotti (1940-2002) was the mafioso and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. After ordering the killing of Gambino boss Paul Catellano in 1985, he took over the family and led what was the United States' most powerful crime syndicate. He was known as The Teflon Don after three high profile trials in the 1980s resulted in acquittals. Later it was revealed that the trials had been tainted by jury tampering, juror misconduct, and...

3564 - Kassel, Hesse, Germany

A wonderful message on this card that translates to to those wh o can wait, everything comes with time.

2346 - Iwate, Iwate, Japan

Keita is a junior high science teacher in Iwate 岩手町. He sent me a photo of the Tokyo Sky Tower during a fireworks display. The Tokyo Sky Tower is a broadcasting and observation tower in Simide, a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010. In 2011, when it was completed at a height of 634 meters, it became the tallest tower in the world, and the second tallest structure in the world, after Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE.

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