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Thread: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

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    Public Relations ATAG_Lewis's Avatar
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    A Tribute to Those Who Served...Our Families

    As a tribute to our grandfathers, fathers and family from all nations who served and maybe saw action.

    Here is a thread dedicated to them.

    ~S~

    Tell us their story.
    Last edited by ATAG_Lewis; Feb-26-2017 at 21:49.
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Both my grandfathers fought in WW2.

    My Grandad Taylor from my mothers side was a sailor who sailed on a few different ships during the war most notably HMS Warspite and HMS Orion. He was based in Malta during WW2 and was involved in the battle for Monte Cassino when the ship he was on called to fire on Gaeta where German troops were forming to support the front line at Cassino. He sustained burn injuries to his legs when he had to run across a burning deck after his ship was bombed.

    He also took part in the Normandy landings and was on HMS Orion when she reputedly fired the first shell of the day.

    He was also part of the Guard of Honour to King George VI.

    He survived the war.

    (Below) Here with my mother



    (Below) Duty as the Guard Of Honour - Taylor 2nd from the left as King George VI walks down the steps.



    My grandfather on my fathers side spent the duration of the war in the mediteranian with the Royal Pioneer Corps. He fought in the African campaign and then fought through Italy and at Monte Cassino.

    As children we were always told not to talk to him about the war by our grandmother, but we did when we got him alone. We used to push him for information and grisly stories. In one instance he was in a small convoy of 3 trucks that was hit. His truck survived and so he went on to load his truck with the dying. He turned his truck around and went back to where he had come thinking that the medics could do something. When he arrived he was reprimanded by his superiors for doing so, the men were all dead. In Italy his best mate was killed instantly beside him from a shot to the head. There were other stories too.

    After the war he did not come home for 3 more years and was sent to keep the peace east of Germany. My father who was born just before the war tells me when his father eventually came home in 1948, he 'didn't know who this strange man was who had come to live with my mother and I'.

    He survived the war.

    (Below) The photo that was always in the hall at my grandmothers house after he died in 1986.



    I never saw his medals until after he died. My father told me he had been upset by the fact that his medals arrived when he got home with just a note for all his years of service and action. He immediately left the army to become a fireman and his medals were locked away in a draw until after he died.

    It wasn't established until recently after their deaths when I took the time to do some research that I found that both my grandfathers were involved in the same Battle at Monte Cassino. I brought a broken roof tile back from there last time I visited.
    Last edited by ATAG_Lewis; Dec-18-2017 at 16:00.
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    A deserved *bump*. First time ive read it m8. You should be proud.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    A very touching story. It is good to remember that what for us is just a game costed so much to so many.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Rgrt....Someone once started a thread like this on the FS website and I remember it being a fascinating read of stories about players relatives in war time from different nations.....Many people contributed..

    I thought it might get folks motivated here to share with us some.......
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    I have no photos of my grandad , But i know he fought in the spanish Civil War (My mum is Spanish) and he fought on the Republic side (Communists) against the Nationalists (Fascists). His family were from Seville and after the Republicans lost he had to pack up his family and move them further south to a small town called La Linea which is right by Gibraltar. I dont remember much about him but i do remember he used to smoke like a chimmney like all the old timers in Spain do. My mum was a baby when he went off to fight she hasnt said much about him just that he fought in that war .
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    My granddad fought in the Battle of Narvik up in the mountains. He got one English, one Polish and one Norwegian medal for his exploits.
    It was hard fighting and we got a lot of relics around like the German fleet sunk in that Battle

    Scubadiving is a massive sport in Norway because of this, This Destroyer has lied like this to date, but now it broke


    My Granddad told nothing about his war, except one incident. He walked in front of a patrol in the mountain East of Narvik and met a german in a small top coming the other way to the top. My Granddad could not talk other language than Norwegian so he told the german witch carried a P-40 machine-gun to just back off.
    The German solider went for his gun and was shot dead.
    I have been hunting on those mountains since I was a kid and there are a lot of items left up there.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Always good to hear these stories......Great reading...and Thanks for sharing....~S~
    "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.'' - Bertrand Russell
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    My Opa in Holland didn't serve in an official army but he was heavily involved in the dutch resistance in the war. His father was killed in a bombing of their home town. The first bomber wave came in and leveled the town, then the second came in half an hour later to hit the people that came out to do damage control and look for injured. My Oma and him weren't married yet, but both of her parents were killed as well. He took in her and her sister and took care of them both for the remainder of the war, while doing everything he could to help fight the occupiers.

    I was in Holland a few years back for him and my Oma's 60th wedding anniversary. They wanted to see their grandchildren again, and as they could no longer fly to Canada to see us they flew us out to celebrate with them. We stayed out there for two weeks and lived at my Auntie's place. My Opa let us borrow his car for any site seeing that we wanted to do, but on some really special days he decided that he would drive us around himself. When he did this he always took detours to show us some significant sites for him. The one time he simply pulled over at a riverbank and stopped the car. He sat silently for a few minutes, then wiped away a few tears and in his broken English started to explain that at this very spot he had to dive into the river and swim away underwater from a squad of Germans that had caught him trying to deliver messages at night. Another time he stopped at a train track and pointed up to the sky and told us that at this very spot a spitfire had tried to strafe him as he was on a bike. Another time he drove us out into the middle of a field where there was a small monument. The monument was set at the sight of a malfunctioning V1 crash. The local people had come out to try decide what to do with it when it suddenly exploded, killing I believe 19 civilians, the youngest of which was 7. He took us out into the bush to show us sights where V1 launch sites had been set up.

    Every time he brought us somewhere he would sit quietly for a few moments and his eyes would glaze over. You could tell he was right back where he was in the war and trying to find a way to even explain what he went through and what had happened. He wanted us to know but had a hard time facing it. These were the best memories I had from that whole Holland trip, and I have an unbelievable respect for him. I wish I was able to get to know him better but we live across the world from each other and there is a bit of a language barrier, but on a few of those detours he showed us his soul, and you could see he was still haunted by it all.
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Wow Heady...Such an amazing story...Its wonderfull to me that these stories are not lost and at least we can share them with our generation.....and they should give you pride

    Thanks for sharing and ~S~

    Its so exciting to read these....because they are real....and from family....I salute them all...~S~
    Last edited by ATAG_Lewis; Feb-06-2014 at 23:17.
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Thats just moving Headshot. Specially because we can see through your story telling, your grand pa was trying to pass a legacy of knowledge, of you guys family history. Make sure you tell about him to your children too.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Quote Originally Posted by ATAG_Lolsav View Post
    Thats just moving Headshot. Specially because we can see through your story telling, your grand pa was trying to pass a legacy of knowledge, of you guys family history. Make sure you tell about him to your children too.
    I definitely will. The other major thing that hit me hard on that trip was a day that we went to one of the Canadian war cemeteries. I believe it was a smaller one, only about 1440 graves. Everything there was immaculate, there were incredible flower beds all over, and every grave still had a poppy held down by a small stone even though it was about a month after their Remembrance day. Some of the graves had laminated pictures of the young men that lay there, and one even had a laminated note from a person who had found that the soldier in that grave was the last one to die liberating their town, followed by an impassioned plea for anyone with any info about their family to get in contact with them and a phone number. Many of the graves had a small phrase on them and the one that really hit me was "He died that we may live." There was a small building in the center with a podium that held a large book with a page on how Canadians were called Stormtroopers and thanking the soldiers and their families for the sacrifice, then page after page after page of names and ranks.

    After seeing what my Opa was going through then standing in the middle of all this I was an emotional wreck. My sister, on the other hand, was hopping around the graves trying to find graves with pictures, then commenting on how handsome or funny looking the soldiers were without even realizing that they were literally under her feet. The entire reason that that place was there was lost on her. At one point she went to the building in the middle, read the first page then said "Canadian's fought in the war?!?" She was 18 and didn't even know. At this point I curled up in a corner and just broke down. I vaguely remember her asking my dad what was wrong with me. I hate to say it but our generation in North America is losing this all fast, and quite frankly it's a damn shame. I will tell my children about this as I honestly believe this history needs to be kept alive. On the other hand the dutch people still held it close, especially the older generation but even the youth. If they found out we were Canadian we were treated like celebrities. Shop keepers and even street vendors refused to take our money and people would even cross streets just to say hi and thank you if they noticed we were Canadian.
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Bump...

    Hopefully we see more stories here soon
    "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.'' - Bertrand Russell
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    An excellent, excellent thread

    My contribution is a little different / less war-like but I remember being totally captivated as a 13 year old when my granddad told me it:

    He fought against the Japanese in Burma. He didn't like to talk very much about his experiences at all and never responded to my youthful fascination with wondering about whether he killed any one and that grisly sort of thing. But he would talk of what life was like day to day for him and his comrades.

    For 3 months his company (?) were dug in on a hillside overlooking a bridge that was strategically important to both sides. The Japanese were likewise dug in on the other side. It was a stalemate with neither side wanting to risk a raid that might result in the destruction of the precious bridge. Life was spent in trenches. Utter boredom for the most part, rarely a shot fired save for a few speculative rounds here and there. One night he was on watch in a trench, expecting to see nothing as usual, when suddenly he saw two glowing 'lights' moving in an odd pattern through the jungle. He couldn't for the life of him work out what they could be nor whether they were far away or very close so he watched and waited....then he heard a deep breath from what felt to him like 2 feet away and the sound of paws on the ground. It had been a Tiger hunting in the jungle, the 'lights' the reflection of whatever ambient light was around in its eyes.

    I remember thinking at the time, aside from 'wow a TIGER!!!!!' (I was 13...), that I had never considered all the other less obvious dangers these brave men faced in the line of duty every day.

    Dave

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    He probably thought.....relief...a tiger...I can deal with that.....a whole lot better than a platoon of enemy
    "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.'' - Bertrand Russell
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    I had two uncles on my mothers side who were in the Normady invasion at Ohmaha beach. Both brothers were in the Army , Henry was a Ranger and Howard was regular Army.They both survived , however Howard was wounded by machine gun fire and spent six months in the hospital and Henry was captured and spent nine months in a German prison camp. They both lived into their seventies and would seldom talk about the war.
    As a young boy I had a million questions and after a few strong drinks they would sometimes open up.
    Howard said of all the things he saw the one that stuck in his mind was a half of a cow hanging in the top of a tree.
    Henry said the guys who captured him were German regular army and they treated him fairly decent. My poor grandmother recieved a telegram saying Henry was missing in action and for many months did not know if he was alive or dead.
    Both men eventually came home , married and lived fairly normal lives but Howard suffered nerve damage from the wounds he recieved for the rest of his life.
    Sometimes when I'm having a bad day and start feeling sorry for myself I stop and think about what they went through and it makes me just suck it up and move on.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Very good Lewis. A moving thread of historical connections and accounts. How do I insert images in the enlarged manner you guys have done above? They look very good and when I 'insert image' it displays as a small thumbnail. Alternatively, perhaps a moderator could change them if that's easier? Thanks.

    My great-grandfather Pilot Officer Roy Marchand flew Hurricane in the Battle of Britain and in France with 73 squadron. He was up there in the thick of it on September 15th 'Battle of Britain day', the turning point of the battle. As some of you will know, on this day the Luftwaffe launched the largest and most concentrated attack against London in the hope of drawing out the RAF into a battle of annihilation. Around 1500 aircraft took part in the air battles which lasted until dusk. 22 year old Roy in Hurricane P3865 was among them. Strongly outnumbered in combat with 109s near Maidstone, he was shot down and killed just past midday. His picture is my avatar.

    I had the opportunity to hold his very Hurricane's remaining control column and gun-sight not long ago. The safety is unlocked and sight distance set as he had it that day in combat with the 109s...

    Below is a wonderful summary of his history in the RAF by Dean Sumner:

    http://www.bbm.org.uk/as-Marchand.htm
    Last edited by trademe900; Jun-01-2014 at 05:45.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    This is he first time I've seen this thread but it really cook Lew and thanks to all those who have posted. I thought I would add a small story about my Inlaws which is tied to this sim we love.

    My wife Kim's parents were both just youngsters during the second world war and during the Battle of Britain She (Norma) was relocated from London to the country side down south near Bristol I believe. Tony was also moved there from the Swindon area because his grandparents were down there. They were both about 10 or 12 years old when this occured and first met each other. This was done to get children out of the bombing zones but in this case didn't quite work out due to the ship building facilities nearby.

    Long story short is they kept in touch and later when her father a Merchant Mariner decided to move the family to New Zealand, she refused to go and went to stay with Tony and his folks till they were of age to marry. She was about 16 years old at this time and her dad refused permission to marry to try and force her to move with the family. Head strong as she still is my Mother in law held out and they were married at 18 and are still together as I type this missive. We celebrated their 60th aniversary just a bit ago. So while technically not a served story, I thought I'd throw it in anyways.
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Great stories Trademe and Zeig....and thanks so much for sharing these private and emotional stories with us....I feel very honoured...~S~
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Very interesting stories! All of them. specially treadme900! Thank you. Would like to do some Hurricane-Skins of P2869 TP-S (June 1940) and P3865 TP-K (September 1940).
    Regards
    Larry69


    P.s. great thread lewis!

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Quote Originally Posted by LARRY69 View Post
    Very interesting stories! All of them. specially treadme900! Thank you. Would like to do some Hurricane-Skins of P2869 TP-S (June 1940) and P3865 TP-K (September 1940).
    Regards
    Larry69


    P.s. great thread lewis!
    Wow, Larry, I'm touched. Would you really be able to do that? I am thrilled at the thought. Thank you in advance.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Quote Originally Posted by LARRY69 View Post
    Very interesting stories! All of them. specially treadme900! Thank you. Would like to do some Hurricane-Skins of P2869 TP-S (June 1940) and P3865 TP-K (September 1940).
    Regards
    Larry69


    P.s. great thread lewis!
    +1 Nice one Larry!
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Sorry Dooz....I missed your post....just read it now....So good they made it through that battle on Omaha...messy battle....Thanks for sharing this bro..

    Me and the missus on Omaha Beach 2006

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  31. #24
    Combat pilot RedBeard's Avatar
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Very interesting reads all.

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Great reading, and thanks for sharing.

    Hey Headshot I have seen your comment:
    Quote Originally Posted by ATAG_Headshot View Post
    I hate to say it but our generation in North America is losing this all fast, and quite frankly it's a damn shame. I will tell my children about this as I honestly believe this history needs to be kept alive.
    Leaving on the other side of the Atlantic, in Europe, I was under the impression that it was quite the opposite. I also do believe that this history needs to be kept alive and I think these 2 following examples will help:

    The fist one is the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy; if ever you have the opportunity to visit this museum, you will be pleased to see young canadians guides working there.
    From their website : The Canadian Guide Program is an initiative that the Juno Beach Centre is proud to offer. Young bilingual Canadian university students come to the Centre in France to work for one of three different periods throughout the year. These guides are responsible for welcoming visitors, giving historical tours of the beach, presenting exhibits, and providing information to visitors. They help to make each visit a positive and educational experience for every visitor, as well as help give the Juno Beach Centre its distinctive Canadian flavour in France. For 10 years, some 100 young Canadians have crossed the Atlantic to work at the Juno Beach Centre. Some have even decided to stay in Europe, while others returned to Canada to become teachers, managers, lawyers, civil servants, politicians… and contribute to making the Canada their forefathers fought for.
    I have visited this place last year and I must say it is a great initiative, both for visitors and young canadian students.

    The second one ties a bit more with my family history as grandpa was a witness of this event. P/O Long (RCAF) lost his life in the crash landing of his wellington 1 klick from home. He is buried at the local cemetary and I recently discovered a great initiative by Canadian authorities for keeping memory of aircrew alive: have a look at Canadian Feature Renaming Project. P/O Long has now his name associated to 'Long Bay, Canada:
    Long.JPG

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  34. #26
    Team Fusion LARRY69's Avatar
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Quote Originally Posted by trademe900 View Post
    Wow, Larry, I'm touched. Would you really be able to do that? I am thrilled at the thought. Thank you in advance.
    ..So, here`s the two Hurricane of P/O Roy Marchand No 73 Squadron.

    I made P2869 in a late Battle of France Style, because i have read that this Hurricane was already in May/June in 73 Squadron and fought in the BoF.
    Hurricane P3865 is in classic Battle of Britain look (15. September 1940).

    If you like to have the Skins, please write me a PM.

    regards

    Larry69
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    My Uncle W/O Ellacott (Wop/AG) (deceased),
    Was on this Halifax LL510 in the story at this link.

    http://www.oldnautibits.com/features/aerofeature3.php

    He told me about it years ago and I saw (shortly will have) the pics of the rescue.

    Again, as with most veterans of the war, he never spoke about it and when he did and showed the pictures, it was with a great deal of humbleness, humility and humour and did not cover all the dangerous details. He could not say enough about his pilot "Freddy" (22 yrs old I recall), who set her down as smooth as could be.

    S! to My Uncle Earl!!
    "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had,
    but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP"
    - Leonard Nimoy


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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Quote Originally Posted by LARRY69 View Post
    ..So, here`s the two Hurricane of P/O Roy Marchand No 73 Squadron.

    I made P2869 in a late Battle of France Style, because i have read that this Hurricane was already in May/June in 73 Squadron and fought in the BoF.
    Hurricane P3865 is in classic Battle of Britain look (15. September 1940).

    If you like to have the Skins, please write me a PM.

    regards

    Larry69
    Larry I'm blown away mate. Your time and effort in making these beautiful skins and images really deserves praise. This was very nice of you to do and it is indeed a token of appreciation and remembrance for their service. I've emailed around the stunning pictures you made to Roy's daughter Carol and the family. They look amazing! Cheers Larry! PM sent for the skins

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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    Not one of the few like Treadme900's amazing and very moving story but more one of the many who where simply there.

    My father died when I was 9 and so I never got to quiz him about the details of his career but by going through his log book I can deduce the following. He Joined the RAF in 1926 at the age of 15 as an erk apprentice working on canvas and dope inter war bombers. I have a 99 Sqn photo of him (an about 200 other chaps) sat in front of what can only be described as over sized box kites designed to carry bombs. They are Handley Page Hinaidi, look them up, amazing! At the age of 27 he made Sgt Aircrew and underwent Air Observer (Navigator/gunnery/bomb-aimer) training with 207(B)Sqn on Fairy Battles. He remained there far beyond his training period and I assume he must have become permanent staff when it became 12 OTU and so missed the Battle of France Fairy Battle massacre. He was then posted to 82 Sqn on Blenheims arriving just after their thrashing in the same event. From there he went to 101 Sqn on Wellingtons for a few months before being commissioned as an engineering officer, thus missing the arrival of Lancasters and the start of the serious bomber offensive and was posted to the Royal Iraq Air Force where he flew Audax with the crown prince! Next to the Persia and Iraq Force (PAIFORCE) where he built Spitfires for the Russians returning to the UK just after VE day as a Wg Cdr. He married my mother, she being a Flying Officer fresh from RAF Hawkinge OCTU, in 1953 and she made the jump from OC Catering to Stn Commander’s wife of RAF El Firdan in one swift move. He remained as a Wg Cdr engineer for the next 19 years and demobed in 1964 as Wg Cdr Eng Training Command heavily involved in the introduction of the English Electric Lightning and worked in some way on the Kestrel (early Harrier prototype). He died two years later
    All these are in his log book, Wikipedia a few and be amazed; Handley Page Heyford, HP Hinaidi, Westland Wallace, F Battle, A Anson, Vega Gull, Avro Tutor, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, Blenheim, Wellington I and IV, Rapide, Hawker Audax, Vickers Vincent, Percival Proctor, Fairchild Argus, Miles Magister, Liberator, Avro Oxford and Avro York. There are another dozen or so but they all get a bit modern (in relative terms)
    He did 38 years in the RAF (makes my 19 years look a bit lame) covering sting-bag kites to supersonic rocket-ships. Now that gentleman, spans a fair chunk of aviation history. On the other hand, I joined with the Tornado as our front line bomber, and when I left 19 years later it still was, oh and it still is!

    Maltloaf

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  41. #30
    ATAG Member ATAG_Snarglepuss's Avatar
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    Re: A Tribute to Those Who Served.

    My Dad's brother fought and was killed in the Second World War. He enlisted in the Canadian Army in Hamilton Ontario in 1942. He told 3 separate lies to get into the army. He claimed to have been born in Lethbridge when he was born in Poland and immigrated to Canada as a toddler in the late 1920s. He changed his name to Walter from Felix because of the cartoon character Felix the Cat and the teasing he received and lastly, he was only 16 and claimed to be 18.

    Walter went overseas with the Irish Regiment of Canada to England and then to Italy. He was wounded among 18 others in his regiment at Monte Cassino. From his Personnel File I obtained from the National Archives of Canada I read that he suffered a gun shot wound to his left thigh. Six high velocity shells had landed in his sector. A 1/4 inch shell fragment had struck the anterior portion of his left thigh and lodged near the neck of the left femur. No attempt to remove it was made, it healed over and he was sent back as a replacement to the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada in August of 1944.

    Prior to my applying for and reading his Personnel File none of us knew what had happened to him. My Grandmother received a telegram reporting him missing in action October 23, 1944. On or about 2 months later a second telegram arrived confirming him killed in action October 23, 1944. Our family never received any information regarding the circumstances surrounding his death nor were any personal effects returned to the family. My grandparents and father believed him to have been blown to pieces and a stone raised for him over an empty grave in the Cesena War Cemetery.

    In 1999 I obtained his Personnel File and my detective work began. From the file I discovered he was last seen exiting the SW door of a house at "April" (a road junction in the commune of Pieve Sestina). He was to assist Cpl. Jacobsen in covering the ground to the SW. Heavy firing was heard from their sector before an enemy attack reached the house from this direction. His company (A) was forced to withdraw, two days later a search of the area was made but no Canadian graves were found. So Grandma got the first telegram...MIA. Two months later members of 13 Field Company RCEs were 5 kms north after the Germans retreated. At a village church in San Andrea in Bagnolo, Father Don Amedio Farnedi approached them and gave them my uncle's pay book. He had found a dead allied soldier in the garden area of his parish. He buried the body and had kept the paybook until the allies came through. The grave was exhumed and Walter's body was identified, Grandma got the second telegram...confirmed KIA.

    From reading the files, the war diary of his regiment and e-mailing the PR director of Cesena (Dr. R Branchetti) I was able to piece together what likely happened some 60 years after the battle.

    On the night of October 21/22 1944 the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada made a crossing of the Savio River to form a bridgehead on the German occupied side. Under darkness and heavy rainfall they waded the river and established positions in and around Pieve Sestina. "A" Company of which Walter was a member penetrated deepest and was tasked with cutting the main Cesena to Ravenna road. They established their blocking positions around an intersection and group of houses "April". They had set out Hawkins mines and were holding when a fighting patrol of 30 some Germans were seen to be approaching along the road mid afternoon. Hasty plans were made to ambush them. The plans went "agly" when a section Bren gunner fired upon them when they were still 200 yards out instead of the planned 20 to 30. The Germans went to ground, called up a Panther tank which provided fire support. "A" Company was forced to withdraw under covering fire from their own weapons and smoke provided by "C"company which was on their right flank. The withdrawal left 9 dead and 11 missing including my uncle.

    My father had told me that my Grandmother had had a premonition. She wakened screaming one night saying they would find Walter under a tree......My father was 15 at the time.
    Dr. Branchetti had posted an article in a Cesena newspaper about his e-mail exchange with a Canadian trying to find out what happened to his late uncle. A bartender called him after overhearing a conversation among his patrons about "The Priest" finding the dead allied soldier in his flower bed/garden. It was in San Andrea in Bagnolo, the UTM code on the military map matched the same grid
    mentioned in the file I had from the archives.......I grabbed me wife, bought the airfare and off we went to Italy.

    All of my childhood visits to Grandma's house I remember gazing at the portrait of my uncle hanging in the living room. "For King and Country" it said. It was April 2002 that we flew to Frankfurt, rented a car and drove to Cesena, Italy. I met Dr. Branchetti at our hotel. He drove me to the Church in San Andrea in the country area of Cesena. It still stands but was moved 20 or so meters and attached to an old folks home/lodge. There is a fir tree standing close to the original location of the church and the tree is mature. (i.e..more than 60 years old) The church yard where Don Amedio Farnedi buried my uncle is still there and used to this day. The UTM code that corresponds to the Church yard is 534145, my employee number for 31 years was 534148....a difference of x yards/meters....I cannot calculate the difference because the Army's maps of 1944 where imperial...the map I had in 2002 was Italian and metric........Father Farnedi passed away in 1973 and is buried in a vault at the front of his sanctuary....

    My uncle was unfortunate enough to have been killed in that great crusade to rid the world of nazism. His body was found 5 kms. north of where he was last seen exiting the house at "April". Those poor remains were buried once by the priest, dug up by the army graves registration members after laying in the ground for two months, and two years after Germany's surrender disinterred and moved to the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Cesena. From the archives I was able to determine that the other 10 soldiers who were missing that day were made POWs. All returned safely to England in May, 1945 after Germany's surrender. I can only assume that my Uncle was badly wounded when taken by the Germans at "April" and was left under the tree for the priest to find and bury. Walter was one of the D-Day Dodgers who'll stay in Italy. If he had made it one more week....he'd have turned 19.

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