Like much of Italy after 8 September 1943, the town of Porcari, located in the province of Lucca, was involved in the German occupation and the rebirth of fascism under the government of the Italian Social Republic. Several young men joined the partisan brigades that were emerging in the area, in particular the 'Poggiocaro' formation that acted mainly in Porcari, Capannori and the surrounding area. Arcangelo Toschi was under its command. The partisan team excelled in the collection of weapons, sabotage activities and the exchange of information with the Allied forces, with whom they established an excellent collaboration.

The town was hit several times by the Allies, both by bombs and shelling, (the latter in the summer period after the advance of the Front), which caused several civilian casualties, including Raffaello Toschi, Giuseppe Benetti and Arcangelo Del Carlo. The German army and the republicans managed to shoot down some Allied planes, without capturing the soldiers who had taken refuge with some local families before attempting to cross the front. On 3 September 1944, Pietro Della Nina was shot by the Germans after being captured together with Francesco Franceschini, who managed to save himself. Porcari was liberated on 4 September 1944.

The War Memorial was placed next to the town hall in 1929, a work commissioned from the sculptor Alfredo Angeloni by the Municipality of Porcari, in memory of the soldiers who died during WWI. After 1945, the monument was also dedicated to the victims of WWII. The base is made of concrete in the shape of a cube and consists of various geometric elements and a bronze slab in the centre, in which the text "To the fallen of all wars" is inscribed. A bronze sculpture above the plinth features a woman in classical clothing, an allegorical representation of Victory, as she shoots an arrow at the enemy and protects the body of a soldier who died for the Fatherland. The two sides feature plaques bearing the names of the fallen soldiers and civilians of WWI and WWII. Porcari's WWII civilian victims included the following names: Benetti Giuseppe, Della Nina Pietro, Matteucci Giuseppe, Toschi Raffaello, Del Carlo Arcangelo.