Ortona

Heroes Remember

Ortona

Transcript

We then moved across the field and into Ortona and the fighting, the fighting at Ortona started and that's where we learned the system of mouse-holing, where we'd blast a hole in a wall because you couldn't go down the streets, they were too narrow and the snipers had them all spotted. So the infantry, the Loyal Eddies and the Seaforth Highlanders, they were with A-Squadron, the Loyal Eddies were with us and they would, we'd blow a hole in a beginning of a block of houses and then they would go in and blow out the next wall and clear each house out one at a time that way. So the infantry, the German snipers, didn't have chance to get at them.

Description

Mr. Dowie describes a tactical system they learned while in Ortona which was called "mouse-holing".

Vernon Dowie

Mr. Dowie was born in Montreal on August 9, 1920. His father was from Jamaica and was a medical doctor who trained in Cambridge, England. His father did not have a medical licence in Canada and thus worked at a variety of jobs including painting and as a railway porter. Mr. Dowie joined the Three Rivers Regiment in August 1940 and was part of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade. He trained in England and served in Italy, Sicily, and Holland. He is still involved with the Three Rivers Regiment.

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