October 08, 2017
A day of remembrance & arrival in Siracusa
What an emotional day ... we left Palermo early this morning and traveled through the interior of Sicily to reach Siracusa. Enroute today we stopped at the mountain top village of Agira. Close to the village is the WWII Canadian cemetery where we visited for a special ceremony arranged by the local council in Agira. Before we departed from Canada one of our guests Carol Brown from Ottawa, Ontario called and told me her uncle was buried in a Canadian war cemetery close to our route to Siracusa and asked if we could arrange a visit to her uncles grave, who lost his life defending Sicily during the war.
When we contacted the local council they said they would like to arrange a greeting committee and ceremony to honour her visit and her fallen uncle. When we arrived at the cemetery we were greeted by the mayor and other local officials. They walked with Carol to the monument and placed a wreath in his hounour. It was a very emotional moment for all the group and we were all honoured to be able to share it with Carol. No better weekend to celebrate his life than our Canadian Thanksgiving. There are 490 Canadian soldiers buried at the cemetery. It was a moment I’ll never forget. The local council then invited us to their village to join in the weekend local celebration that was being held in the town square. We all had a great time. What a day of memories.
We are now in Siracusa, Sicily staying at a harbour front hotel. Tomorrow we start our day with a photo walk of Siracusa and then in the afternoon a visit to a local vineyard for lunch and wine tasting. Enjoy todays selection of images from our Sicily journey and thanks to many Canadian hero’s we will never forget.
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Posted by Judith Zoltai on Oct 9th, 2017
When I was in Sicilt, there was an American veteran in our group who took part in the American landing in Sicily. The man was 89 years old in 2012.
Posted by Dave Chidley on Oct 17th, 2017
Wow, that is an awesome reception and ceremony. My uncle fought with tank regiment in Italy and was decorated for his acts of bravery rescuing injured Canadians in the battles. 490 Canadians, you helped to remind us of who didn't return. Good job. Thanks