Sixty-five years after Don Singlestad helped liberate Italy from the Nazis, he's returning to be honored for that long-past feat.

One of the most-decorated noncommissioned officers of the Army's famed Red Bulls during World War II, Singlestad, 92, will travel next month from his home in Park Rapids, Minn., to the northern Italian city of Vernio.

There, he and other representatives of the 34th Infantry Division will officially commemorate a highway that honors the Red Bull Division's role during the war.

"I guess they wanted me to go because of the decorations I got, but I didn't go over there to win medals," Singlestad said. "I went to fight Hitler, the craziest fool who's ever lived in this world."

Singlestad's wartime odyssey began in 1940, when he joined the Minnesota National Guard to -- he thought -- avoid the military draft that was looming.

"I was in business with my dad and was 24, so I figured when I turned 25, I wouldn't have to worry about the draft," he said. "It didn't work that way, and I got hooked into the Army."

He was activated in early 1941, and when he shipped out for Europe the next year, "I figured that's the last I'd see of the United States," he said.

Singlestad took part in the invasion of Africa, only to be captured and imprisoned by the Vichy French. Freed when France joined the Allied forces, he rejoined the Red Bulls, now part of the Fifth Army, which was poised to invade Italy.

On Feb. 4, 1944, he took part in a fight against a German force that would earn him a Distinguished Service Cross, given for "extraordinary heroism in action."

The citation accompanying the medal gave this account of that day:

Patrolling near Cairo, Italy, Singlestad's platoon was attacked by the Germans and he and his squad were surrounded.

"Technical Sergeant Singlestad fought his way free by moving toward and through the enemy, throwing hand grenades as he advanced," according to the citation. "He killed at least six of the enemy and wounded several others. When he had expended all his ammunition, he used his rifle as a club against the enemy who surrounded him.

"Coming face to face with two Germans, he felled them both with his rifle butt, dived over a rock wall, seized another rifle and continued his advance to the company command post."

He was able to give his commanding officer information about the Germans' strength and helped direct the counterattack that eventually repulsed the enemy.

Protecting the Vatican

A few days before Rome was liberated in June 1944, he set up a communications system that helped direct air and artillery bombardments away from the Vatican and the city's other architectural treasures.

That act earned him the Italian Military Medal of Valor -- he became one of just a few American servicemen to earn the honor equivalent to the U.S. Medal of Honor. It also earned him an audience with Pope Pius XII.

"He blessed us for the liberation of Rome," Singlestad said, noting that he told the pope he was a Lutheran. "He blessed me anyway."

He returned home, spent his career as a clothier and only recently turned his attention back to his wartime memories.

"I couldn't start thinking back about all of it in my '70s and early '80s," he said. "I just couldn't open up. But then I was going to so many funerals of all these guys who were never able to tell what they went through. And they went through hell."

He assembled his recollections into a just-published book titled "Fighting Fool." "Well, the fact is, I was a fighting fool," he said. "I went over there not expecting to come back, but I did."

He also has been involved in the Red Bull Division's veterans' association, serving last year as its president. In that capacity, he welcomed the mayor of Vernio, who presented the association with a commemorative highway sign.

And the division, legendary for its service in several wars, is still fighting, with Minnesota National Guard soldiers currently serving in Iraq.

"I'm hoping one of the generals who's over there can come to Italy for a day and help me cut the ribbon," Singlestad said. "It's the division that's being honored."

Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184