How Canadian soldiers saved an Italian child after WWII battle

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Gino Farnetti, who was saved by Canadian soldiers following a Second World War battle in Italy when he was six years old, will be screening a new docudrama, Gino: A Child of War, in Vaughan, Ont., this Sunday.

“For me, remembering the legacy of caring extended to me as a young boy exposes the strong bonds and memories which have endured more than 80 years after the war,” Farnetti told National Post in an email on Thursday.

“My story, and that of my Canadian Guardian Angels, born out of the ashes of war, serves to emphasize the importance of remembering the past, allowing present and future generations to understand how even the smallest acts of kindness can have an enormous impact, even in the midst of war. And perhaps my story might help mitigate the horrors of war, which we continue to experience today.”

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Members of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps found Farnetti, whose father had died and mother was unaccounted for, alone in Torrice, Italy, in June 1944 while they were fighting the Germans. Over the following nine months, Canadian soldiers cared for Farnetti, teaching him English and relying on him as a camp messenger throughout the closing months of the Second World War.

Tony Battista, the executive producer of the film and a Canadian military veteran, described Farnetti’s unbelievable rescue during a refuelling mission in a small Italian town south of Rome. “Canadian soldiers were having a tea break in a quarry before returning to camp,” he told the Post in an email. “They heard a howling noise and thought it was a dog.

“Then they realized the noise came from a child stuck in a bomb crater trying to get their attention.”

Battista said the soldiers looked after Farnetti as if he was one of their own. “The soldiers, mostly in their early 20s, felt they had their own son, reminding them of home — all in the middle of a terrible war.”

Farnetti later personally thanked four Canadian veterans — Mert Massey, Paul Hagen, Doug Walker and Lloyd Oliver — for saving his life.

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“To come from a little boy in a shell hole to the life that he made for himself is just incredible,” Dennis Oliver, a son of Lloyd, one of the soldiers, told the CBC.

Francesco Sorbara, the Liberal MP representing the heavily Italian-Canadian riding of Vaughan-Woodbridge, reflected on Farnetti’s remarkable story on social media, ahead of the docudrama’s public premiere.

“In honouring Gino’s story, we celebrate the Canadian values of duty, service, and courage as demonstrated by the Canadian armed forces during World War II. The perseverance that unites us, and the freedom we enjoy, today, thanks to the sacrifices of the past,” Sorbara wrote.

“This movie highlights the shared heritage and enduring strength that defines and connects Canada to Italy. It honours the brave Canadian men and women in uniform who fight for freedom and democracy, past and present,” Sorbara said earlier on Monday during a speech on Parliament Hill in the House of Commons.

Battista believes the story will resonate with modern viewers imparting lessons about the “resiliency of the human spirit,” a timeless theme which transcends generations.

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“Canadians, especially young Canadians, can learn from the Gino experience and the humanity shown during the horrible conditions of war. These Canadians did not have to go through the risk and troubles to look after a destitute child, but they did, and Gino lived a good life, as a result of their actions. So to all Canadians, their military is a great vocation worth everyone’s respect,” Battista told the Post.

After his time with the Canadians, Farnetti was adopted by an Italian couple and currently lives with his wife, Rita, in Manfredonia, Puglia, Italy.

Battista and Farnetti are hopeful that the film will spark greater interest and may lead to a “full-screen film or possibly episodes suitable for television.”

Gino: A Child of War will be screened at the Montecassino Event Venue on Sunday evening in Vaughan.

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