Descendants of Lloyd “Red” Oliver of Miniota, were recent guests of honour at a movie premiere in Torrice, Italy. This premiere was fittingly celebrated on “Canada Day”.
The character of Red was featured in the movie, Gino: A Child of War, for his role in rescuing and caring for a little Italian boy found during a routine transport mission in June 1944 in the weeks following the Battle of Torrice Crossroads.
“I have never felt more proud to be Canadian,” said an appreciative Tanya (Oliver) Barnes of Birtle, granddaughter of the late Lloyd Oliver, in regard to the hospitality extended to them during their visit to Italy. “The level of respect and gratitude these communities have for Canadians is very honouring. It was a truly magical night.”
July 1st, Canada Day, began for the Oliver family - Darcy, Tanya, Ted, and Amanda - with a town welcome by the Mayor of Torrice. They attended a cairn dedication to three Canadian soldiers - Paul Hagen, Lloyd “Red” Oliver, and Mert Massey – commemorating the rescue of the boy Gino, before ending the day with a breathtaking open-air viewing of the movie atop a hill overlooking the town and surrounding areas with Gino, his family, and 200 community residents.
“We were all greeted at the church that overlooks the crossroads where Gino was found as a little boy during the war,” Barnes reported about the unfolding day’s activities.
Leading up to the main event, the Italians rolled out the red carpet for the Oliver family as a token of gratitude for the generous act of humanity that Red and his fellow platoon mates, Mert Massey, Paul Hagen, and Doug Walker, bestowed on the orphaned and malnourished five-year-old boy they found hiding among the rubble in the war-torn town 79 years ago.
They took the boy back to their base, bathed him, clothed and fed him, and tried to track down his family, but they were determined to be dead or missing. Given the impoverished and destitute conditions of the area at the time, they soon found that he was better off being fostered, for the interim, by them. They never considered themselves to be the heroes that they were.
“What I remember is the care and love they immediately had for me as soon as they found me,” Gino was reported as saying via an interpreter to CBC News back in 2014 during a visit to Toronto to honour the brave men.
Farnetti-Bragaglia’s recollection is on point. It lines up with a handwritten account of the inherent sense of responsibility Red felt when the Transport Troops found him on that dark, fateful night.
“It seemed to me that a boy of five years of age should have a bath, so I gave him one,” wrote a 22-year-old Lloyd in one of his diaries. “After the bath, the fellows that had kept Gino (Ike Klassen and Paul Hagen) must have been impressed, as they asked me if I wanted to look after him. I guess they realized that I truly cared about this malnourished little fellow. So, from that time on, Gino came with me, it was ‘Gino and Red’.”
Red served with the C-section of the 5th Division Royal Canadian Army Services Corps (RCASC) as an army truck driver transporting food, ammunition, fuel, and other supplies to front-line troops during the Second World War. This enabled him to keep and care for Gino most of the time. When he wasn’t able to take him along, Gino stayed on base with Red’s good friend, tent mate and platoon mechanic, Mert Massey. Between the two of them, they provided mentorship, tutelage, and guidance and served as father figures for the orphaned boy. Red taught him the English alphabet, numbers and about the Bible and he learned how to speak English while in his care.
He stayed with them for nine months until the platoon left Italy heading north into Western Europe and officials would let him go no further. Red was allowed to return to Viserba with Gino, where he left him with an acquaintance that found a suitable family by the name of Farnetti, who eventually adopted Gino. It wasn’t until 2012 that records were unearthed that showed his birth name to be Bragaglia. The day Red left Gino to resume his soldier duties was described as 'a cold, heart-breaking night in February that he would never forget.’
“It was over 60 years ago, during the Second World War that I first met this little boy, who would later be named Gino Farnetti,” wrote Red nearly 20 years ago as he reminisced about his life and his accomplishments. “Gino was the first child that I initially fed, clothed and taught to read. Most importantly, in a war-torn country, with no family around, he gave me a sense of purpose each day. Gino taught me responsibility and helped prepare me for my future role as a father to seven children. But together, as the bombs fired around us, we travelled along in my army truck, sharing what I have learned are the most important parts of life: to live, love and laugh. I later spent years waiting, but always had the faith to know that I would find my ‘little soldier boy’, again.”
That day came in 1979 when Gino and Red reunited. From that time on, they remained in touch and very close until Red’s passing in 2012; the last of the four soldiers that played an integral part in changing the trajectory of Gino’s life.
For Barnes, the trip to Italy and the honour of representing her grandpa at the movie premiere and cairn dedication was special in many ways, but in particular, it reiterated what a truly amazing man he was, the loving and compassionate role he played in Gino’s rescue which subsequently impacted the rest of his life, and the true significance all Canadian soldiers had in liberating European countries.
“The day itself was very emotional for my family and I, along with Gino and his family,” said Barnes. “This trip truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am so glad we got to experience it all together.”
The movie, Gino: A Child of War will first be shown in Canada at a Calgary viewing in October.
Check the website for more information about the movie and the story behind Gino: A Child of War
