A Manitoba veteran helped solve a 70-year-old mystery and reconnected a family with a lost loved one. Now, that family is preparing to visit his grave in Italy for the very first time to attend the first Remembrance Day ceremony at Coriano Ridge War Cemetery.
Morley Roney’s sister gave him a horseshoe and rabbit’s foot to bring him good luck when he went over to Italy to fight during the Second World War.
“She was only 10 years old when I left for the army, and I carried it every day for four-and-a-half years. It worked,’ he said.
Roney’s luck continues to this day. By chance, the 91-year-old Wawenesa man met a distant cousin now living in Italy. He told her about his friend, Jimmie Griffiths, a fellow soldier who died there.
“I met him in Italy. Nice kid, oh yeah, real nice kid,” said Roney.
Griffiths’ grave remained unnoticed in a cemetery in Coriano, Italy, until Roney's cousin found it, and unearthed the family who had been searching for their loved one for decades.
“69 years ago, he passed away and now we're receiving information about him,” said Jo Parker, Griffiths’ great-niece. “You can't even believe it, really.”
Now, Griffiths' family is headed from London, Ontario to Italy to pay tribute to a relative they knew little about. His niece, Anna Parker, was just a child when he left home.
“Wouldn't it have been nice to have known him, you know, and I never did,” Anna said, wiping away a tear.
Jimmie Griffiths snuck into the military because he wasn’t old enough to enlist. His family only found out he was in the army when they got notice he died in battle, weeks after his 18th birthday.
Roney was beside Griffiths in Italy when he took a fatal hit. “Oh, he's in my mind every day. I don't think a day goes by that I don't think about that,” he said.
For decades, Roney didn't know if the soldier he took under his wing had received a proper burial, until chance led his cousin in Italy to Coriano Ridge War Cemetery.
“I was actually headed to the Moro River Cemetery and got lost,” said Corrin Fraser.
Nevertheless, she found Griffiths’ grave. Fraser posted a photo on an ancestry website, where Griffiths’ family spotted itand connected with Roney.
“You wouldn't think you would hear from anyone, certainly that knew him, let alone was with him the day that he passed away,” said Jo Parker.
Griffiths’ family finally saw their loved one's face and take comfort knowing he wasn't forgotten. “That's pretty nice, I think so, after 69 years,” said Roney.
At 91, Roney says his travelling days are over, but he’s glad his family will join Griffiths’ family in Italy this Remembrance Day to pay respects to a fallen comrade who never made it home.
With a report by Alesia Fieldberg. This is the first story in the five-part series, “The Poppy Trail.” In part two, we'll show you how hundreds of people across the country have contributed.
