I soldati dimenticati – The forgotten soldiers

November 11, 2016 - Mirella Colalillo

Infantrymen of "D" Company, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, with their Universal Carrier, which is inscribed "Germany Kaput - Italia Tutto Finito - Here We Come Canada", De Glindhorst, Netherlands, 5 May 1945. (L-R): Private Wilf Monbourquette, Sergeant Ross MacKay, Privates Hugh McErlain, Lawrence Spence, Harry Campbell, Dusty Millar and Aubrey Bolitho. Date: 5 May 1945 Place: De Glindhorst, Netherlands Extent: 55 x 55 mm Terms of use Credit: Lieut. Michael M. Dean / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-137741
Restrictions on use: Nil
Copyright: Expired Photographer: Michael M. Dean
5 May 1945, Credit: Lieut. Michael M. Dean / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada – Photographer: Michael M. Dean

 

History was not il mio forte in high school although that changed later on in life. The reason for this is that the Italian school system is text based. Not much fun and, despite the fact that we were surrounded by that same history we were studying, there were no field trips, but only hours bent over textbooks remembering names, dates and battles. As we all know, Italy’s history is very ancient and complex, therefore it makes sense that our first huge volume in the 1st year of high school begins with Preistoria, Prehistory – a long way to go before we reach modern days.

l° anno: dalla Preistoria ai primi due secoli dell'impero Romano;
2° anno: dall'età dei Severi alla metà del XIV secolo;
3° anno: dalla crisi socio-economica del XIV secolo alla prima metà del Seicento;
4° anno: dalla seconda metà del Seicento alla fine dell'Ottocento;
5° anno: il Novecento.

It’s only during the 5th year of high school, 5° anno superiore, (grade 13) that we start learning about the 20th century, il novecento,  and we finally discover our recent past – familiar names and faces appear making the tedious textbooks more interesting and exciting.  But we barely cover WWI and WWII, La Prima e Seconda Guerra Mondiale. The words Fascism and Communism remain abstract concepts.

For example, who knew that Italy was rescued by Canada… I didn’t learn this in school, but found out that Italy was liberated from the Fascist invasion thanks to brave young Canadian soldiers. In fact in July 1943 the men of the First Canadian Division landed on the beaches of Sicily, and fought their way north eliminating Hitler and Mussolini. 

During history class educational documentaries such as the following would have helped us relate to our ancestors and make connections which we are still missing today.

I highly recommend watching these two videos which will be available online until Apr 29, 2017.

The Forgotten Army: Canadians in Italy, 1943 – Ep. 3
The Forgotten Army: Canadians in Italy, 1943-1945 – Ep. 4

Today, November 11th, is Remembrance Day in Canada, and there is no better time than now to remember the sacrifice of many brave soldati dimenticati – the forgotten soldiers, humans and animals. The cemeteries where they lay across Italy are often unknown and ignored. Tourists rarely visit them.

Let us honor and not forget the soldiers who gave their lives so that we could be free from repression and hate.

Canadian War Cemetery, in Agira, Sicily
Canadian War Cemetery in Agira, Sicily
 

– Video of my family’s town, Campobasso, Canada Town 1943:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zim54n213po

 

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