Winston Churchill once said of World War Two that it was not a war of princes or chieftains, but of peoples and causes; a war fought by unknown heroes. Here we acknowledge the unknown heroes that Churchill was referring to as well; our fallen heroes as well as those that fought for our freedoms and returned with their memories. We remember and honour in our hearts the Allied heroes, war veterans and all the affected people, who valued freedom in their life above all else.

Stan Scislowski

I was called up in the draft at 19 in October, 1942, and sworn into the Canadian Army at St. Luke Barracks in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I did my Basic Training in Stratford, Ontario and my Advanced Infantry training at Camp Ipperwash on the shore of Lake Huron. On May 10th, 1943, I boarded the troopship Andes for the 10 day ocean crossing, landing at Liverpool, England. I did further infantry training in Aldershot, Hampshire, England to Aug.5, 1943 from where I was assigned to the Perth Regiment of Canada at Hunstanton-on-the-Wash. My unit was transported in convoy to Italy, the ships setting out October 27, 1943. Off the coast of North Africa near Sicily, the convoy was attacked by German bombers using radio-controlled bombs. One U.S. destroyer, the Beatty on outer screen duty was hit and sunk, along with one Dutch freighter and a Troopship carrying Canadians of the 5th Armored Division and 15th Canadian General Hospital. Miraculously no Canadians were lost.

The U.S. Transport, the John Ericsson on which were some 5000 Canadians as passengers including my Regiment, was the first trooper to dock in the heavily damaged harbor of Naples. The date: Nov.8, 1944, just one month after it was liberated by the combined American and British troops of General Mark Clark's 5th Army . My first battle action was outside the town of Ortona on the Adriatic coast recently freed of German control after a vicious street battle that lasted a week. So vicious was the room-to-room, house-to-house fighting that Ortona became known in the world press as 'Little Stalingrad'.

After losing our first battle, The Perths never failed from then on to take its objectives in the long Liri Valley push past Cassino to Rome, the Gothic Line on the Adriatic Front, and all the smaller, but no less tough, confrontations with the enemy holding the river lines in the Po Plains. I suffered a minor wound in the defence of hill 204 in the Gothic Line after we had broken the door down to allow the whole Corps to make the breakthrough. Much later on I sustained a leg injury carrying out a wounded buddy from a listening post knocked out by an enemy patrol. It was January 6, 1945 when I ended up in hospital and did not finish the war when the Canadian Corps departed Italy in February to finish off the German Army in northern Holland.      ~ Submitted by Stan Scislowski

Stanley Scislowski was born in Windsor, Ontario on September 13, 1923, and has lived in that city all his life. He is a veteran of the Perth Regiment, and fought on the Italian front until an injury put him out of action. After the war Stan was a partner in an electroplating business. He has six children and nine grandchildren, and maintains his interest in military history and writing.

Albert Lincoln Sohl

Sgt Sohl served with Headquarter’s Company, 12th Infantry Regiment. He was assigned to S-3 (Plans And Operations).The Regiment along with the rest of the 4th Infantry (Ivy Leaf) Division arrived in England on 29 January 1944. and was billeted in Exeter, Devonshire on the SE coast of Britain. On D Day, 6 June 1944, the 12th Infantry saw its first action of the war when, as part of the 4th Infantry Division, it made an amphibious assault landing on Utah Beach. He was wounded in St. Lo, Normandy on July 4th and sent to a hospital in Birmingham, England.. Sohl was returned to his unit about mid August just two weeks prior to their entry into Paris on the 25th. The Regiment fought in five European campaigns through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Portions of the Fourth were the first allied troops to liberate Paris on Aug. 25, 1944. The 12th Infantry was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its valor in the defense of Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge. The Regiment was also awarded the Belgian Fourragere. After Germany's surrender, Sgt. Sohl and those fortunate enough to have 85 points or higher were sent back to the U.S. on12 July 1945. He was awarded an honorable discharge on Aug 28, 1945 in Camp Kilmer, NY,. having served three years and seven months with the armed forces.

Albert now lives in Port St Lucie Fl, with his wife of 67 years, Carmella. They have 3 children , 5 grandchildren and 1 great grandson!

Albert Lincoln Sohl

Albert Sohl and friends, 1942 (Albert standing on left)

Albert Sohl and Training Buddies, 1943 (Albert, bottom left)

Albert Sohl and friends doing laundry

Ray Victor Sullivan

Ray Victor Sullivan, age 85, died peacefully September 15, 2007. "I've had a wonderful, long life," he said. Born Sept 8, 1922, in Reardan, WA, he grew up in Spokane, delivered papers during the Depression, and married his "beautiful Dorothy" before leaving to serve as an Air Force officer during WWII. He returned to greet his daughter Carolyn, attended Gonzaga Law School on the GI Bill, and moved to Lakewood, 1952. His son, Thomas, was born 1956. After retiring in 1976 as Licensing Supervisor for the WA State Liquor Control Board, he moved to Fox Island. His wife preceded him in death September 7, 1985. Later, he enjoyed travelling with his dear companion, LaDona Welch, and many happy times with their friends and families. He was a member of the Tacoma Elks. He was very actively involved in the lives of his two grandchildren, Kimberlee and Kraig Church, and his first and special great-granddaughter, Remi Ketchum, now 15. He lived to greet three more great-grandchildren: Anika now 5, Kaden, 3, and Maxwell, 2.