Citation(s);
Military service
Burial/memorial information
Baptized Joseph Antonio Gérard Di Stefano. Son of Thomas Di Stephano and Rosanna Turcotte of Sherbrooke, Quebec. Brother of Jean-Paul, Léo, Antoine, Guy, Gille, Anita and Denise.
Enlisted in the Canadian Army Special Force, he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment on August 24, 1950, then to the 3rd Battalion in 1951. He left for Japan on July 5, 1951, and arrived in South Korea on September 1. He was killed in action with the 2nd Battalion on October 23, 1951, during an assault on Hill 166 held by the Chinese as part of Operation Commando, which began on the 3rd and aimed to establish a new line of combat northeast of the Wyoming Line located near the current border between North and South Korea.
His name was inscribed on the cenotaph of the Korean War Memorial in Meadowvale Cemetery, Brampton, Peel, Ontario, erected in 1997 to commemorate the 516 Canadians killed in action between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953, as well as on the Korean War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. An identical monument can be found at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Pusan (South Korea).
Commemorated on the Wall of Remembrance.
Digital gallery of Private Gérard Distefano
Digital gallery of
Private Gérard Distefano
Digital gallery of
Private Gérard Distefano
Digital gallery of
Private Gérard Distefano
Image gallery
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 18 of the Korean War Book of Remembrance.
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COMMONWEALTH MEMORIAL (BUSAN) South Korea
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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