Military service
Burial/memorial information
On 29 December 1943, orders were given to seize the heights in the fork of the Riccio at Torre Mucchio. After two unsuccessful attempts, the objective was reached on the morning of the 30th. Blais was mortally wounded on the 30th by a shell exploding, near the Riccio and Arielli rivers. He died of wounds on the same day and was buried alongside a wall near a sports ground in Ortona. He had 1,384 days' service, including 1,252 overseas. After the war, he was exhumed and reburied in the Moro River cemetery near Ortona.
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 137 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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MORO RIVER CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY Italy
The Moro River Canadian War Cemetery lies in the locality of San Donato in the Commune of Ortona, Province of Chieti, and is sited on high ground near the sea just east of the main Adriatic coast road (SS16). The cemetery can be reached from Rome on the autostrada A25 (Rome-Pescara) by branching on the autostrada A14 and leaving it at Ortona. The approach road to the cemetery from the main road passes under an arch forming part of the little church of San Donato. The cemetery is permanently open and may be visited anytime.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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