Welcome to 
the Private Elmer Lyle Wentworth "Wenty" Langton (1910 -1943) 
Collection

Moro River Canadian War Cemetery

ORTONA: A SON'S STORY OF LOVE, HONOUR AND REMEMBRANCE 
By G. Wayne Langton
 (March 21, 1935 – January 21, 2015)

My name is Wayne Langton. My father died in the Battle of Ortona and is buried in the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Ortona, Italy. It is a small seaport on the Adriatic, roughly opposite Rome. The Battle of Ortona was Canada's bloodiest of the Second World War. The fighting and destruction were so intense, Ortona earned the nickname "Little Stalingrad."

I want to tell you about growing up without a dad and about seven trips to Ortona in search of connections. My father's name was Elmer Lyle Wentworth and everyone called him "Wenty". He was born in Morris, Manitoba July 26, 1910. He was the youngest in a family of six sisters and one brother. Wenty volunteered four times before being accepted by the Winnipeg Light Infantry on May 27, 1942. After his training, he was posted to the Saskatoon Light Infantry. His unit fought through Sicily, then mainland Italy up to the Moro River near Ortona. At the crossing of the Moro River, he was mortally wounded on December 9, 1943. He had his jaw blown off and one leg totally shattered, which was amputated six hours later. He died December 13th.

When he went to war, I was seven years old. When he died at Ortona one and a half years later, I was still too young to understand. My mom found it hard to talk about him and so I grew up not understanding much and full of unanswered questions. I knew the basics. My father went to war and never came back. Growing up, I had a lot of anger in me and I was envious of those who did have a father. As I grew older, and being occupied with making a living, the memories dimmed and Ortona seemed so far away.

In 1990, I made my first visit to my dad's grave and so, 47 years after he died, I was finally able to honour him in person. When we arrived at the cemetery, all those dimmed memories came flooding back. Overwhelmed, I nearly collapsed. The taxi driver and my wife had to hold me up. The taxi driver spoke no English and with tears coming down his cheeks, asked "Papa?" That first visit in October 1990 was the saddest, most loving thing I've ever done. When I saw his name on the marker, the reality of it all came gut-wrenchingly home. We visited the cemetery several times and also met our now dear friend Nick Serafini of Ortona.

Following that first visit to the Moro River Cemetery, I hungered for any information on my father and the Battle of Ortona. Information was scarce, but I did get his service and medical records and a priceless letter from one soldier to another describing how he helped my father onto the ambulance. Since 1990, I've had a wreath placed on my father's grave each Remembrance Day. My father was 33 when he died, and he is probably one of the oldest in the cemetery. He didn't win any awards for bravery, but he did the bravest thing of all. He gave his life and he is my hero.

In 1998 I responded to an ad by Mark Zuehlke, a Victoria writer, who was doing research for a book on the Battle of Ortona. I offered him my father's letters and contacts I had made with some vets. In December 1998, Mark went to Ortona to conduct more research, and I put him in touch with my friend Nick, who translated for him. The book Ortona was published in '99, and when I went to Ortona in 2001, I took a signed copy with me, dedicated to "The Brave People of Ortona." Nick arranged a time for me to meet the mayor, to whom I made a speech and presented the book. The mayor presented me with a medallion of the town crest and a video of the dedication of the monument "The Price of Peace." It shows a soldier down and dying and another trying to comfort him. Nick and I are in the acknowledgements of the book, as is Fabio Dell'ose, the owner of Ristorante Miramare in Ortona, where the author often ate.

In November '06, I made my first visit to a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Moro River Cemetery. There were almost 500 people including Canadian and Italian military plus the usual dignitaries. There were children reading poetry and singing songs in English and Italian.

When the crowd was dispersing, a man close to me asked if I was Canadian. I replied yes, and that my father was buried there. He excitedly asked about my father and stood by his grave with me. I didn't understand the fuss. He said he'd never met a direct descendant before. He introduced himself as Paul Raymond, Principal of CCI, a private Canadian school located in Lanciano, not far from the cemetery. Their students are taught about war and sacrifice, and play a big role in each year's Remembrance Day. After my return home, he contacted me to say they knew the life story of only one of the soldiers buried there and could I supply a bio and photo of my father. He explained that when the students visited the cemetery, they could stand by my dad's grave and relate to him rather than just another marker with a name on it.

I went to Ortona again in October of 2007 and gave a speech to a few students of CCI School. It was on this visit that I met Angela Arnone, a linguist who was in the process of translating the book "Ortona" into Italian for publication. She in turn introduced me to Saverio di Tullio, who built the base of the monument "The Price of Peace" with wartime rubble. He wrote and illustrated a comic book version of the Battle of Ortona which Angela translated into English. His knowledge of the battle of Ortona is incredible. He gave me a tour of some of the battle sites and showed me the vicinity where my Dad was wounded.

In 2008, I made my second Remembrance Day visit and this time made a speech to all 70 students of CCI School. The Remembrance Day ceremony was as moving as the previous one I'd attended. There was the usual large turnout with some Italian vets in their plumed hats. After the ceremony, a woman came up to me and said "I know who you are and I know about your father and I've been dying to meet you." She learned about my dad and me through the CCI School. Her name is Martha Sarmatiuk, an ex-Winnipeger, now living in Italy and keenly interested in the history of the Battle of Ortona. She writes articles about some of the soldiers buried in Ortona and had one published in the Winnipeg Free Press in late 2008.

Early in '09, Martha contacted me with the most stunning news. She had found the grave digger and here is his story. When the Battle of Ortona was raging in December '43, the fighting was so fierce, the Canadian Army couldn't spare any troops (not one) for burial duty. They contracted with young 19 year old Rocco Budani to bury each soldier where he fell, in a shallow temporary grave, marked only with a stick and the dog tags hanging on it. When the battle was over, these graves were moved to the new Moro River Cemetery and Rocco ended up working as the first cemetery custodian until he retired 40 years later. Martha had discovered he was still living, about 85 years old and his faculties intact.

This kick-started my plans for a return to Italy in April '09 because I just had to meet the man who buried my father in 1943. It was an awesome, emotional and profound experience for both of us. He, in turn, had never met a direct descendant. I met him over coffee in his home with his family and Martha translated.

This trip, I also met several people in their 80s who, as teens, survived the battle. They all had stories to tell, mostly about how the Germans stole their food, and if it hadn't been for the Canadian Army feeding them, they might not have survived. They revere all Canadians to this day. One woman in particular, Francesca La Sorda, aged 89, has put potted flowers on the Price of Peace monument every day since it was inaugurated in 1999. This is her way of thanking Canadians for their sacrifice.

About this collection

This collection of videos and photos are the labour of love for G. Wayne Langton, son of Private E.L.W. Langton, who was killed at the Battle of Ortona in 1943.  I was contacted through this site by Wayne's cousin about his collection, and have graciously accepted its care from Wayne's widow Lynn. 

Private Langton made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, so it is my honour to share and preserve this collection with anyone interested in the Battle Of Ortona, The Saskatoon Light Infantry, and Canadian Military History in general.  
LEST WE FORGET!
60th Anniversary of the Battle of Ortona 1943 - 2003
2008 Ortona Military Parade
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Buy on Amazon : Ortona Street Fight
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Buy On Amazon: Ortona: Canada's Epic World War II Battle