Record of Service

A map. Photo courtesy of Jack Rhind, The Memory Project.

“They thought it would be easy to go up Italy and...attack the Germans and join the Russians that way. Well, Italy didn’t turn out to be anything like [that].” - Jack Rhind

The Italian Campaign

Ignacy Pelc and two comrades pose in front of a monument in Rome, Italy, 1944. Photo courtesy Ignacy Pelc, The Memory Project.

Part I 1. As a class, watch Summary of the Conflict: Second World War as an introduction to the content explored in this activity. 2. Watch Jack Rhind’s testimony and take notes, focusing on how he describes his experience and any details that paint a picture of life during the Italian Campaign. As you gather information from this primary source, start to develop an interpretation based on what you can infer from your observations. Consider the following questions when arriving at your conclusions: • What can this source reveal about the Italian Campaign? • What does this testimony tell us about what it was like to be a soldier in the Italian Campaign? 3. Make a list of three conclusions you have reached based on your notes. For Part II, you will consider whether this testimony represents the experiences of Canadian soldiers in Italy in general. Modification: As a class, watch Jack Rhind’s testimony, and have each student complete a 5Ws chart. What questions do you still have? In small groups, use The Canadian Encyclopedia and other resources to answer your questions.

Part II To draw a conclusion about the experiences of soldiers in the Italian Campaign, we need to corroborate Jack Rhind’s testimony by comparing it with other primary and secondary sources.

1. Search for another primary source that covers the Italian Campaign. For instance, Gordie Bannerman, a veteran of the Italian Campaign, wrote a memoir that offers written testimony of his experience. Find the link to his memoir in Online Resources , above. His story is quite long, so you may want to search for another primary source. 2. Read the article on the Italian Campaign on The Canadian Encyclopedia , taking notes as you go. If you can, locate another reliable secondary source, and read and take notes. 3. Create a T-chart to compare Mr. Rhind’s testimony with the information you gathered from the other sources. On one side, make a list of the conclusions you have drawn about Mr. Rhind’s experience. On the other side, create a list of information from the memoir and the article that support your conclusions. Can your conclusions be corroborated? 4. In small groups, take turns sharing what you learned. As a group, come to a conclusion and provide evidence to determine whether Mr. Rhind’s experience is representative of Canadian soldiers in Italy. MODIFICATION : In pairs, read the Italian Campaign article on The Canadian Encyclopedia and watch Jack Rhind’s testimony, taking point-form notes about what you learn. Use a Venn diagram to list the similarities and differences between what you learned about the Italian Campaign from Jack’s testimony and from the article. What does the oral account (interview) add to your understanding of this conflict? Lloyd Bentley: D-Day from the Air “At midnight [on] June the fifth, we had a job of dropping paratroopers about five or six miles inland from Juno Beach. Four hundred thousand people took part in D-Day and about a hundred and fifty-six thousand landed that day and there was about a quarter-million in the Navy and Air Force and aircrew.” - Lloyd Bentley Answer the following questions about Lloyd Bentley’s testimony: • How does he describe seeing people wounded in war? What was the impact of seeing such things? • What was Mr. Bentley’s job on D-Day? Why does he say D-Day occurred a day later than it was supposed to? One of the Halifax bombers used in the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Leeming, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, 5 June 1944. Photo courtesy of Lawrence (Larry) Wulff, The Memory Project.

Normandy & D-Day

Part I 1. As a class, watch Summary of the Conflict: Second World War as an introduction to the content explored in this activity. Before watching Lloyd Bentley and Pierre Gauthier’s testimonies, read D-Day and the Battle of Normandy on The Canadian Encyclopedia to better understand the role Canadians played in D-Day. 2. Watch Mr. Bentley and Mr. Gauthier’s testimonies. Take notes while you watch, as you will be comparing the videos later.

• What does Mr. Bentley’s testimony teach you about D-Day? • What role did the war play in his decision to get married?

Larry Wulff (left) and a comrade on Special Duty, sitting on an aircraft bomb. The bomb was for use the following day, D-Day 1944. Photo courtesy of Lawrence (Larry) Wulff, The Memory Project.

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