Here is the latest drawing in my series of portraits of WWII veterans.This portrait is of Lloyd, who served in the artillery during the war.
When Lloyd and his regiment shipped out from Canada, they sailed on the Aquitania, which had been a cruise ship that was pressed into military service as a troop transport. The ship had not yet been refitted and had its peace-time crew: Lloyd said that the waiters served the soldiers in the dining room, and they ate off nice china for the entire voyage. The soldiers joked and said how glad they were that they had joined the army.
Lloyd’s regiment was sent to Italy. The Canadians were transported to Italy on a so-called “liberty ship,” which again, was a civilian ship that was pressed into military service. The ship was part of a convoy in the Mediterranean, and the ship that Lloyd’s regiment was on was bound for Catania, in Sicily. German bombers attacked the convoy, and the ships all went in different directions: some to Malta, some to North Africa. The ship that Lloyd was on went to Palermo. Palermo had only very recently been taken by the Americans (by Patton, in fact) and so the Canadians joined the Americans there. They camped in an old quarry that first night, but someone, sympathetic to the fascist cause, pushed boulders down into the quarry, and one of the men in Lloyd’s regiment had his leg crushed, which had to be amputated. Another soldier was killed by the falling boulders and it was the regiment’s first casualty of the war. The question was how to get the Canadians from Palermo to Catania, where they needed to be. The Americans had a general with them who spoke Italian, and who went to the local priest and asked for help. The priest worked with the mafia and arranged two things to help the soldiers: a freight train, and a crew to run the train. The mafia arranged the train, and the Canadians finally made it to Catania.
Lloyd’s regiment was sent to Italy. The Canadians were transported to Italy on a so-called “liberty ship,” which again, was a civilian ship that was pressed into military service. The ship was part of a convoy in the Mediterranean, and the ship that Lloyd’s regiment was on was bound for Catania, in Sicily. German bombers attacked the convoy, and the ships all went in different directions: some to Malta, some to North Africa. The ship that Lloyd was on went to Palermo. Palermo had only very recently been taken by the Americans (by Patton, in fact) and so the Canadians joined the Americans there. They camped in an old quarry that first night, but someone, sympathetic to the fascist cause, pushed boulders down into the quarry, and one of the men in Lloyd’s regiment had his leg crushed, which had to be amputated. Another soldier was killed by the falling boulders and it was the regiment’s first casualty of the war. The question was how to get the Canadians from Palermo to Catania, where they needed to be. The Americans had a general with them who spoke Italian, and who went to the local priest and asked for help. The priest worked with the mafia and arranged two things to help the soldiers: a freight train, and a crew to run the train. The mafia arranged the train, and the Canadians finally made it to Catania.
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