Mr. Speaker, later this month, an Italian named Gino Farnetti-Bragaglia will be visiting Canada to thank three Canadian families.
In the Second World War, three Canadian soldiers, Lloyd “Red” Oliver, Paul Hagen, and Mert Massey, rescued five-year-old Gino while on campaign in Italy. They found him starving and alone, not even knowing his own last name. The soldiers and their company looked after him for almost a year, and the orphaned young boy was eventually adopted by an Italian family. Nearly 70 years after the war, Gino is coming to Canada to thank the families of the Canadian soldiers who saved his life.
Gino's story reminds us of the sacrifice and honour earned by the brave Canadian soldiers who fought for the liberation of Italy. Today I want to join Gino in thanking those three soldiers and their families as well as all Canadian veterans. It is important to remember that Canadian soldiers risked their lives not just for our freedom but so that people like Gino Farnetti-Bragaglia could live in freedom as well.