{"product_id":"through-blood-and-sweat-a-remembrance-trek-across-sicilys-world-war-ii-battlegrounds-9781771620093","title":"Through Blood and Sweat: A Remembrance Trek Across Sicily's World War II Battlegrounds","description":"As part of Operation Husky 2013, a group of Canadians walked this route to honour the memory of the nation's soldiers who fought in Sicily seventy years earlier and whose sacrifice has been largely forgotten. Under a searing sun, with Mount Etna's soaring heights always in the distance, a small contingent of marchers trekked each day along winding country roads for between 15 and 35 kilometres to reach the outskirts of a small town or village. Here they were joined by a pipe band, which led them to the skirl of bagpipes in a parade into the community's heart to be met by hundreds of cheering and applauding Sicilians. Before each community's war memorial a service of remembrance for both the Canadian and Sicilian war dead followed. Each day also brought the marchers closer to their final destination--Agira Canadian War Cemetery where 490 of the 562 Canadian soldiers who fell during the course of Operation Husky in 1943 are buried. On July 30--after twenty gruelling days--the marchers were joined here by almost a thousand Canadians and Italians. All joined to conduct a profoundly emotional ceremony of remembrance that ended with one person standing before each headstone and answering the roll call on that soldier's behalf. Mark Zuehlke, author of the award-winning Canadian Battle Series, was one of the Operation Husky 2013 marchers. He uses this arduous and poignant task as a focal point for a contemplative look at the culture of remembrance and the experience of war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Douglas \u0026amp; McIntyre\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/10\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781771620093\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.30w x 0.90d","brand":"Mark Zuehlke","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41309678108853,"sku":"9781771620093","price":31.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_98dd4697-9131-4469-a795-872f9a8d2786.jpg?v=1635831056","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/through-blood-and-sweat-a-remembrance-trek-across-sicilys-world-war-ii-battlegrounds-9781771620093","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}