Cantigny program explores WWII invasion of Sicily

The First Division Museum at Cantigny continues its Date with History series at 7 p.m. Dec. 4.

Guest speaker Steve Fixler will discuss the 1st Infantry Division’s role in the 1943 Allied Invasion of Sicily during World War II. Code-named Operation Husky, it was the largest amphibious invasion of the war to that point and became the template for the D-Day landings at Normandy one year later.

The free program is available at the Cantigny Visitors Center and online. Registration for both in-person and Zoom viewers is required at FDMuseum.org. For those attending in person, parking is free.

Fixler enlisted in the U.S Army in 1979 as an armor crewman, tanker. He left the Army in 1983 as a sergeant and returned to Illinois. From 1983 to 1987, he served in the Illinois Army National Guard and went to Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago) and to Loyola University of Chicago for ROTC.

He received his ILANG commission in 1985 and graduated from Northeastern Illinois University in 1987. He then rejoined the U.S. Army on active duty as an armor officer and took on a variety of assignments before retiring in 2004 as a major. He is currently superintendent of the veterans assistance commission of DuPage County and volunteers at the First Division Museum at Cantigny.

December hours at the First Division Museum are 10 am to 3 pm daily, except Mondays. Cantigny’s regular parking fee includes museum admission. Visit FDMuseum.org for more details. Cantigny is located at 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton.