Although it had to share the front page with news about World War II, the March 18, 1944 eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius was one of the biggest stories of the year.
An article excerpt from the Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News:
“The volcanic crater of Mt. Vesuvius exploded with a terrifying roar tonight, blanketing the countryside for 10 miles around under a pall of smoke and burying two mountain villages beneath tons of flowing lava.”
The Castle films newsreel company compiled a major report for their “News Parade” series.
“The last major eruption happened 70 years ago, in the midst of World War II, and was photographed by the great British photographer and Magnum founding member, George Rodger.
As LIFE noted to its readers in the April 17, 1944, issue of the magazine, the eruption ‘has compounded the complexities of fighting a war and of merely existing in southern Italy. Beginning on March 18 and still continuing, the eruption has given the Allied Military Government several thousand more refugees to look after and brightened the night horizon as far north as Anzio beachhead.’”
— “Mount Vesuvius: Photos From the Volcano’s Last Great Eruption”
Life Magazine (Includes slideshow with 13 photos)
World War II Allied forces controlled the Naples region of Italy by March of 1944. This front page photo from Canada’s Lethbridge Herald shows an Allied bomber flying near Mt. Vesuvius.
And here is a United Press story excerpt from the Neosho (Missouri) Daily News:
