18 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 12, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com One for the vets Oakville PHOTOS BY LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER 579 K St O k ill ON L6K 3E1 LUNCHEON: The seventh annual Veterans Appreciation Luncheon hosted by MEDIchair Halton on Friday drew about 600 people including (top) Irene Bogue looking at a photo of herself with her husband Patrick, who served as a soldier oversees; (below left) Loyd Berryman and (below right) Dennis McNeill. Downtown · Falafe · Souvla · Shawarma · Taboule · Seafood Mixed Grill Ritorno 7 DAYS A WEEK FOR LUNCH & DINNER! Return to the Table The Italian Way NOW OPEN! Dorval 905.338.1888 OPEN: Mon.-Thurs. 11-11 Fri.-Sat. 11-11:30 Lakeshore Rd. General Manager - Courtney Baker, Owner - Julia Hanna, Sous Chef - Matthew Roots, Executive Che f - Carl Dahl Kerr 134 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville To advertise in Food for Thought call 905-845-3824 Dundas St. (Hwy 5) (HWY 5) DUNDAS ST. TRAFALGAR RD. Trafalgar Road R 261 Oak Walk Drive 905-257-5881 www.ritorno.ca Memories of war Continued from page 17 ( Hamilton) QEW (Toronto ) T HAMILTON QEW TORONTO BRONTE Chinese Cuisine OPEN SINCE 1995 To Hamilton QEW 1515 REBECCA ST., OAKVILLE e Roa Bronte Road 905-827-7073 · www.brontechinesecuisine.com Lakeshore Rd. Fourth Line h d Third Line Near new mall entrance by Zellers · Own entrance at the front of the restaurant. Restaurant is open even after the mall is closed. Rebecca wounded, so we had eight left," he said. "I remember every one of them. It's pretty hard to forget." Antoine, himself, did not escape the war unscathed receiving 15 shrapnel wounds from an exploding shell. Fortunately none of these hit anything vital, which was good because Antoine refused to be evacuated to a hospital. "I was a platoon sergeant and I was short of men," he said. " They dug the damn things out and then I got fixed up." By this time, as if to add insult to injury, a British member of parliament had referred to the Canadians fighting in Italy as the D-Day Dodgers, stating they were enjoying sunny Italy while avoiding the `real war' in France. Rather than let the terrible moniker get to him, Antoine and his comrades made D-Day Dodgers their own, using it as a way of identifying with pride those who served in Italy. On top of this, Antoine got the last laugh when he was sent to the Netherlands. "We would raze these boys who fought in France, that we had to come over and win the war for them," said Antoine. While the Second World War ended in 1945 certain aspects of the war remained with Antoine for some time. On several occasions, while living at a home on Fifth Line, Antoine instinctively took cover when he heard the sound of a Stuka, a dreaded dive-bomber the Canadians had had to contend with in Italy. It turned out a pilot from a nearby airfield had taken the motor from an actual Stuka and put it in his plane, making that plane emit a similar sound. "There are things you just remember," he said.