Christmas in Ortona

On December 25, 1943, it was Christmas in Ortona, Italy, where Canadian troops were fighting to liberate the city from entrenched German forces. To maintain the troops’ morale and avoid exhaustion, Captain D.B. Cameron, Quartermaster for the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, hosted a Christmas dinner for the men in a bombed-out church at Santa Maria di Costantinopoli.

They scrounged the essentials for this special meal—table cloths, chinaware, beer, wine, roast pork, applesauce, cauliflower, mashed potatoes, gravy, chocolate, oranges, nuts, and cigarettes. An organist played “Silent Night” and for a few moments there was a semblance of normality as the soldiers could sing these words amongst the raging war a few blocks away. For some, it would be their last meal, as the battle of Ortona left 213 Canadians dead during Christmas week.

The Christmas dinner at Ortona was a time for rejoicing and reflection. It offered Canadian soldiers a short relief from the strain of battle and allowed them, for a moment, to relish in the festive spirit of the season, feel closer to home, and be thankful for each other. A statement that I would like to imagine still shines the loudest 80 years later.