Local dragon boat team helps WWII vet honour fallen soldier
During a recent competition in Italy, members of a local dragon boat team were inspired to visit the final resting place of a fallen Canadian soldier thanks to a Second World War veteran.
When Bill Nicholson heard that the Abreast With FORT-itude dragon boat team was competing in the Italian city of Ravenna, he approached team captain Cheryl Watson to see if the they would visit the grave of a solider from Langley.
An avid history buff, Nicholson had read about Corporal Clifford Kimmel, who was buried in a war cemetery near Ravenna. Like Nicholson, Kimmel was a “D-Day Dodger,” the derisive nickname Allied servicemen in France gave to colleagues based in Italy. Kimmel’s two brothers also died in the war.