Ghosts of Ortona: Reckoning with the Traumas of Canadian World War II Veterans

"The general gave us a talk. He said the more Germans you kill, the quicker you’re gonna get home."

As a young anthropologist, Ian Cosh set out to document the memories of a little-known but costly World War II battle fought over Christmas in the Italian town of Ortona. His research took him across western Canada, and to Italy and Germany, interviewing veterans and civilians. In their stories, he encountered puzzling details—hints of things unspoken and unresolved. Sam was obsessively mappin...