Private Rolland Gosselin

Baptized Joseph François Xavier Rolland Gosselin. Son of Joseph Gosselin and Albertine Drapeau, of Lac-Frontière, Montmagny, Québec.

When he enlisted with the Voltigeurs de Québec, he stated that he was born in 1922. On July 21, 1943, he embarked for Great Britain and landed in Greenock, Scotland, on the 28th. On February 17, 1944, he boarded a troop transport that set sail for Italy with Force M on the 18th. On the 19th, he was transferred to the Royal 22nd Regiment. He landed on the Italian mainland on March 3 and joined his new unit on April 7. On May 17, he was seriously wounded in combat by shrapnel to the abdomen during the Battle of Pignataro, near Cassino. On the day of his death, he was awarded the Good Conduct Badge. He died on May 18, 1944, and was temporarily buried in Pignataro. Around December 14 of that year, his body was exhumed and reburied in the cemetery in Cassino. He had served 850 days, including 302 days overseas.