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WWII soldier's body found in France ID'd as Canadian
Graeme Gordon
Published on: May 23, 2019 | Last Updated: May 23, 2019 7:49 AM EDT
In the hedgerows of Normandy there was blood.
Much of it Canadian during the Allies desperate fight to break out and flush the Nazi scourge from Europe.
On July 25, 1944, Sgt. John Albert Collis lost his life fighting for freedom in Operation Spring — a plan to liberate France’s Verrieres Ridge and adjacent villages, but the German forces were well fortified and the Allies suffered high casualties.
Among the dead was Brampton native Collis.
His skeletal remains were discovered 73 years later just outside of the village of Verrieres, France.
The remains were identified as his on March 18, 2019 through a process of historical, genealogical, anthropological, archaeological, odontological, and DNA analysis.
The Government of Canada announced the discovery on Wednesday.
He was a member of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry under the Canadian Active Service Force at the time he was killed at age 28.
More at link https://www.thewhig.com/news/national/canadian-wwii-soldiers-body-found-in-france-identified-as-brampton-man/wcm/ad13a549-214a-4037-86f5-a3c149769544