Day 17 - Sept 13, 2017: Sicily

Day 17 - Sept 13, 2017:  Sicily

Today was a great day! Mount Etna was visible from pretty much anywhere we were today. It was difficult to see later in the morning and throughout the day because of the number of grass fires throughout the countryside.

Sicily Beachhead at Pachino
D-Day for Operation Husky the Sicily Invasion as part of the Mediterranean Campaign was 10 July 1944.

Editors Note: This was a great day with much to see, much learned and much to share. It is now 2:00 and I apologize for leaving you hanging yet once again however I am up at 06:30 to begin another day in this great journey. I will provide edits and photos when I can - I do appreciate your patience! 

The Sicilian Route

The Hasty P's Signpost at Assoro



The Agira Canadian War Cemetery
We stopped at the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Agira to pay our respects to the lads. It was at dusk and as the sun was setting it added an additional view and meaning to the visit. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to My New Blog

Welcome everyone - to my new blog. This is my first attempt at public writing and blogging however, with the help of a blogging course under the instruction of a gentleman extremely knowledgeable in the subject Mr. Karl Plasz, I am hopeful you will find the blog both informational and inspirational. In school, English was a challenge. I think key building blocks were missed as a result of moving several times during the school years. To that, I apologize beforehand should the punctuation be incorrect or the grammar for that matter but I truly hope it won't be too great of a distraction. History: My oldest brother Bill and I have been planning a trip to Europe for some time now to check out battlefields and cemeteries of the Great War. We agreed that exploring places that our Grandfather would have been in during his involvement in World War II would make the trip even more special. Through our research we have discovered that 1) our great-grandfather Timothy Smith served
Read more

Day 24 - 20 Sept 2016: To Mons and area and the Netherlands

Image
Day 24 - Sept 20, 2017:  Mons and Area to the Netherlands Mons Town Hall The British first engaged the German forces in Mons in 1914. The Canadians were in Mons when the Great War came to an end at 11:00 on 11 November 1918. Lt Col. Arthur Curry addressed the men in the Town Hall Square on that day. A plaque is mounted in the entrance of the Town Hall commemorating the Canadians in the Great War Private George Price Ville-sur-Haine is a small town near Mons. It was here that the last soldier of the Great War was killed at 10:58 on 11 November 1918. He was a 26 year old private by the name of George Price and was a member of the 28th Battalion CEF - same battalion as our Great Grandfather Timothy. A memorial stands near the spot he was killed. As Bill and I were looking at the the monument a local Belgique lady who lived across the street called us over. She showed us a nicely framed picture she has of Private George Price. That was amazing! She only spoke French s
Read more

Day 10 - Sep 6, 2017: Normandy and Area with Pictures

Image
Day 10 -  Sept 6, 2017:  Normandy and Area  Arques la Bataille British Military Cemetery We passed by a the Arques la Bataille British War Cemetery and decided to check it out. It was on the top of a hill overlooking the countryside enroute to Normandy, not far from our B&B. This cemetery, as are all other CWGC cemeteries, was well groomed, neat and abundant with flowers. It was filled primarily with members from the South African Labour Camps as well as Chinese labourers and a few members of the Indian navy from the Great War. Le Grand Bunker Musee at Ouistreham We moved on to the Grand Bunker Museum at Ouistreham. On display here is a landing craft that was restored for the movie "Saving Private Ryan".  Standing inside gives you a feel for just how unprotected the soldiers were. There is extremely little keel to these and are basically a flat bottomed boat. It would be a bear to steer and would truly be at the mercy of the winds and seas. This bunker w
Read more