Military service
Burial/memorial information
Baptized Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau, he served under the name Ovila Garceau.
From 1929 to 1935, he served in the Trois-Rivières Regiment – NPAM – and finished with the rank of sergeant. On August 8, 1935, he enlisted in the permanent forces of the army, service number P-48782, at Camp Valcartier, located north of Quebec City. On September 1, 1939, he was promoted to sergeant in the 4th Platoon (Bren Carriers) of the headquarters company. On the 9th, he enlisted in the Royal 22nd Regiment. As a regimental quartermaster sergeant (W.O.II), he sailed for Great Britain on December 9, 1939, and landed at Greenock, Scotland, on the 18th. Promoted to lieutenant on September 27, 1941, he returned to the Royal 22nd Regiment and on June 4, 1943, became a captain. On June 15, 1943, with Force M, he left for the Mediterranean and on July 10, he landed on the beaches of Pachino in Sicily with the second wave of the assault. From July 30 to October 21, 1943, he was seriously ill (dysentery). Assigned to the 4th Battalion on October 22, at the head of Company D, he took part in the fighting between Gambatesa and Gildone, then occupied the heights of Sangro in November, and fought at Ortona in December and at Casa Berardi. Promoted to major on March 30, 1944, he was mortally wounded by mortar shrapnel in the abdomen on May 23, 1944, in the Liri Valley. He died on the 24th at the 13th Canadian Field Dressing Station.
Digital gallery of Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
Digital gallery of
Major Joseph Charles Ovila Garceau
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In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 312 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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CASSINO WAR CEMETERY Italy
CASSINO WAR CEMETERY lies in the Commune of Cassino, Province of Frosinone, 139 kilometres south-east of Rome. It is situated in the valley of the River Liri immediately below the southern spurs of the central Apennines. Above it at a distance of one kilometre is the dominating hill on which stands the Abbey of Monte Cassino, founded by St. Benedict in the year 529 on the site of an ancient temple of Apollo.
If approaching the CASSINO WAR CEMETERY by road, follow the Highway A2 from Rome to Naples and leave it at the Cassino exit. After passing the pay booths, follow the sign for Cassino. At the traffic lights, after a block of flats, turn right towards the locality of S. Angelo and the CWGC signs will then be seen.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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