Leaving Sicily

I know it has been a long time since I wrote...but we have been without access so I will keep posting what I have written as we moved along...

As we made our way from the mountains of Sicily, through the plains of Catania across the straits of Messina to the toe of the Italian boot, it gave me a chance to reflect on the 38 day campaign to knock Italy out of the war and push at the “soft underbelly” of Nazi Germany’s fortress Europa.
For the Canadian, British, and Americans, Sicily was another training ground, after North Africa, for operations planned in the liberation of France; it is where the men and the commanders started to gain their fighting chops against an experienced foe. The campaign was chalk full of heroic acts.


During the assault on Leonforte, a platoon of PPCLI soldiers made their way through the town when a series of German Machine Guns opened fire. The barrage and sniper fire left only one man standing – Private Cousins. In a scene out of Hollywood, Private Cousins lowered his Bren Gun to his hip fired and stormed the German Machine Gun nest and dove in. When he got in he realized that he hadn’t killed all the men and single handedly took out the remaining Germans, before changing his clip and running for the next Machine Gun Nest. Single-handedly, Private Cousins took out another German Machine Gun installation in much the same manner before succumbing to enemy fire – his low rank and nationality meant that his heroic feat went largely unrecognized by superiors but not by his fellow soldiers.


At the risk of boring you with another heroic war story, if there is one tale that is emblematic of Canadian grit, the Italian campaign, and legend within the Canadian Forces, it’s the Assault on the German observation post at Assoro. The town of Assoro, like almost all Sicilian towns and cities, sits atop a mountain. It’s view and natural defense provided the perfect vantage point for the Germans to call down accurate fire on the Allied advance and for that reason had to be neutralized. For all intents and purposes there was only one way up and it was heavily defended. The backside of the mountain was considered insurmountable. The steep incline, an average kit size of more than 80lbs combined with the flat open ground for miles at the base added to the impossibility. The Lord Tweedsmuir, a mountaineer enthusiast selected 20 of the fittest, fastest, largest men in the famous Hasty P’s regiment to march in the dead of night through the open ground to the base and climb the “insurmountable” backside of Assoro. In 40 minutes, those 21 men, including Farley Mowat, scaled to the top and as the sun broke through the morning fog, the Hasty’s had achieved complete surprise, overwhelming the Germans and neutralizing the position – standing at the top of Assoro, looking down you can’t help but marvel at what these men accomplished – but it wasn’t without loss


Appropriately, after following the Canadian battles we ended at the Agira War Cemetery, where over 500 Canadian soldiers rest. The one presentation we had to prepare for this journey was a biography of one of the men buried in an Italian war cemetery. Too often, when we talk of war, we talk about large number of casualties and forget that each one of those men was a son, a father, a husband. These presentations personalize the war. As each student talks about their chosen soldier, his boyhood pursuits, his military service, where he met his fate, and ultimately the people he left behind, it adds life to conflict that can sometimes be too abstract. Overcome with emotion, many have trouble getting through their talks. It is a humbling experience – the white gravestones in perfect symmetry, bearing the names, regiment, and ages of each man. Even more touching, is the scripture chosen by family members. Personally, it’s the younger soldiers and those that are my age that always hit home. Walking through the Agira War Cemetery, the tomb of Private R.V. Smallwood, 18 years old, of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, caught my attention. His age hit me first, but what is written on his tomb really brought to the forefront the unparalleled love of mother. There are a number of Mother’s who are reading this now and I’m sure your feelings would be the same if you lost a son to war. “And while he lies, in Peaceful sleep, His memory, I will Always Keep.”