The road to Messina
"Sicily is an island of extremes and in July, when the sun shines for 11 hours a
day, temperatures often reach 40°C. The men who fought for the hill towns of
central Sicily in 1943 remember the heat, the dust and the stony landscape with
its conical hills and steep ravines. To overcome an enemy holding the high
ground required the kind of physical strength and mental agility shown by the
men of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment during their climb to the heights
of Assoro, northwest of the city of Catania."
Here are another two days of entries following Sherry Atkinson's through
Sicily for the 70th Anniversary of Operation HUSKY the Allied
invasion. Sherry was the Anti-Tank platoon commander for The Royal
Canadian Regiment (The RCR) which was part of the 1st Canadian Brigade
and in turn the 1st Canadian Division. The journal entries are written
by Sherry's wife Susan Atkinson.
A Canadian marker, marking the spot a soldier lost their life 70 years ago
