Hallowed Grounds in Ortona

by Christian D.

In 1943, Canadian forces liberated the town of Ortona. During the battle, 1375 Canadian and 240 Allied soldiers were killed. Last Saturday, we visited the town as well as the Moro River Cemetery where these soldiers are buried.

The perspective was of one of deep respect, solemn dignity, and sheer awe. Entering the graveyard of the fallen soldiers of Ortona brought a deep sense of reality to the numbers of students that walked on the hallowed grounds of the tombs of the hundreds of fallen soldiers. The weather was cold, rainy, and gray, almost setting the conditions in which the brave soldieries had fought. Entering the graveyard we were greeted with the cold shoulder of rain, making us feel the reality of mortality. The youngest soldier was sixteen, the same age as many of us who were now visiting the site.

Moving past the hallowed grounds, we waited for the rain to cease (which was ironic since we were sitting in a bus, dry and warm, while back then the soldieries crawled though barbed wire, mud, dead allies, and hailing bullets). The sheer history that lingered in the streets and in the older peoples was a feeling to be reckoned with.

“The people of Ortona will never forget the good Canada did, always and forever,” said Tomaso, a resident of Ortona who remembers the generosity of the Canadian soldiers from when he was ten years old.