Mr. Speaker, December 28 will mark the 76th anniversary of the Battle of Ortona during the World War II Italian campaign. The battle was described by those who were there as having “the quality of a nightmare”.
The Battle of Ortona took place over the course of eight bitter days during Christmas of 1943. Victory would cost 502 Canadian lives. The best estimates put civilian deaths at 1,300. Sadly, the town had not been evacuated before being overrun by retreating Germans. The fighting in Ortona that Christmas was hand to hand.
Ortona is just one example of the extreme sacrifices Canadians made in the hellish conditions of the Italian Campaign. The campaign raged on for one year, 10 months and 22 days. These are sacrifices we must always honour.
Lest we forget.