Tony Mastromatteo was born May 15, 1921 in Toronto, where he grew up on Wellington St. in a family of 12 children.  Tony’s parents had emigrated from Italy, looking for better opportunities, but the fact that Italy was in the war didn’t bother Tony:  he said he was Canadian and he had no doubts about going into the army when the war came.  Tony enlisted in 1940 in Hamilton with the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles of Canada, and he went into basic training.  Training took him across the country and on the west coast he met Mary, and the two of them decided to marry before he headed overseas.  In 1943 Tony was reassigned to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders regiment, and they headed for New Brunswick, boarded the Queen Elizabeth and arrived in Gourick, Scotland, on July 27.  The battalion moved to Riddlesworth Camp in October, and all the while they were training and marching – and readying for the inevitable invasion.  In those early days overseas Tony learned that he was a father!  He was also assigned to the Argylls’ scout platoon at this time, and reconnaissance would become his specialty.  Tony disembarked in France with the Scouts on July 22, 1944. They did not  move to the front right away, but they saw the signs of war everywhere, especially the sight of the destruction of Caen.  Once into the fray, Tony recalls that they did well, and they achieved particular success in the taking of Hill 195 in early August.  The Battle for Normandy wound to a bloody but victorious conclusion for the Allies, and Tony and the Argylls continued their move to the northeast, into Belgium and Holland.  In Holland Tony was seriously wounded and that would prove to be the end of his war.  He eventually made his way home to his young wife and child, and he found his way in the new rhythms of civilian life in postwar Toronto.  Tony Mastromatteo was interviewed by Scott Masters and Zach Dunn at the Sunnybrook Veterans’ Wing in June 2025.