The Ponte Vecchio after the flood, November 1966. Photo: David L. Keeble

Today marks 46 years since the great flood of November 4, 1966. Many events are taking place in Florence this week, and at one of them, Florens 2012, the RFK Center Europe is hosting an aperitivo dedicated to the memory of Ted Kennedy, "angelo del fango nel 1966" - a mud angel in 1966.

Below are some photos and memories sent to me by a soldier in the U.S. Army who was stationed at Camp Darby, near Livorno, at the time. He was a driver, and he ended up helping to move books and other items damaged by the flood. His account has been edited a little for spelling and grammar.

I was sent up to Florence along with another GI, and we got there several days before the main group of 10 or 12 arrived. We signed in at the Embassy, and I do not remember what we all did.

Visiting Florence before the flood, we had met the lady who owned a pensione, and we enjoyed all the area around the Ponte Vecchio.

Anyway, I had and was driving a 2.5-ton truck, and somehow I was around the Uffizi (a place I knew well) when this dude dressed in black wanted me to haul some books to a dry place. He said it would take an hour or so. After a while, and his continued asking, I agreed, and students loaded the books and away we went. The hour turned into all afternoon, and I got caught by a U.S. Army captain who chewed my ass out about what I had done.

The next morning at the Embassy this church dude shows up, wearing black but with some red on him too. He talked with the captain, and I hauled books for the next few weeks. I was not allowed to touch the books - mostly students did the loading and unloading.

After several weeks I left Florence and took an 18-wheeler load of sleeping bags to some place way up north, on a Sunday, when trucks were not allowed on the main roads. That was an experience.

I was one of the few soldiers (10) at Camp Darby who had a driver's license for any vehicle, especially big trucks, so I got to go a lot of places, like Verona.

David L. Keeble, U.S. Army, Camp Darby

Photos: David L. Keeble, U.S. Army, Camp Darby, November 1966.

More about the volunteers, soldiers and students who helped dig Florence out is on our page on the mud angels.