Last post for 101-year old Argyll veteran at Hamilton’s Garrison parade Sunday
The old soldier figures it's the last time he'll be on hand to hear the heart-squeezing lament of the bagpipes, crack of the drums, and Oi!" shouted in unison by strong young voices.
Pte. Tony Mastromatteo is 101 years-old.
He will be a distinguished and revered guest Sunday at Hamilton's annual Garrison parade of veterans and cadets, that is held each year on or near Remembrance Day.
Mastromatteo took his first peek at the world in the spring of 1921, 20 years after Queen Victoria's death, when Canada's population was less than nine million; six years before TV was invented and 86 years before the iPhone.
But war came long before him, and will long outlast the veteran, who is the oldest member of Hamilton's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders regiment, and one of only two alive who served in the Second World War.
Mastromatteo was hit in his arm and leg with shrapnel from German tank fire in Holland on Oct. 29, 1944, when he served with a scout platoon in the 1st Battalion.
Even while bleeding from his wounds, he helped an officer to safety. Ten of his comrades were killed that day, and 29 wounded.
The parade leaves the John Foote V.C. Armouries at 200 James Street North at 10:15 a.m. Sunday en route to Veterans' Place in Gore Park on King Street East, where a service begins at 10:45 a.m.
Mastromatteo enlisted in 1940 soon after the war began. A lifelong resident of Toronto, he told the Spectator he made the trek to Hamilton to enlist because the spots were all filled in his hometown.
Among other dignitaries Sunday will be Hamilton native Gen. Richard Rohmer, 98, who will be the reviewing officer. Rohmer flew 135 missions in the Second World War, including on D-Day.
The parade has not been held since the start of the pandemic, and that makes it an extra special occasion for the regiment, suggested Maj. Mike Wonnacott, the Argylls' public information officer.
It's inspirational for our soldiers to see links to our history, sacrifice and service, and that moral through line from our ancestry to the commitments Argylls make today," he said.
In a biographical article about Mastromatteo, Argyll regiment historian Robert Fraser writes of the audacious warrior spirit" of the veteran's scout platoon during the Normandy D-Day campaign: Pte. Mastromatteo was one of those warriors."
Fraser quotes Mastromatteo on why he enlisted: I joined because I thought it was my duty to do so...I was proud to be a soldier in the Canadian Army; good stuff."
Like many soldiers, Mastromatteo spoke little of the trauma of war in the decades that followed.
When asked by the Spectator what comes to mind when he remembers the war, Mastromatteo said he does not want to talk about it.
But he added: We did a good job."
In 1940, during training in Nanaimo, B.C., he went with buddies to buy ice cream floats and met a woman running the soda fountain named Mary.
Tony and Mary were married 74 years, and Mary served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and received numerous honours, including the War Medal. She died in 2017 at 95.
Mary had lived at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in Toronto, a long term care facility, and that's where her husband still lives.
Their three children are 68, 71, and 78.
Mastromatteo's daughter, Laura LeMesurier, passed along his dictated answers to questions asked by the Spectator.
He said his health these days is so-so." He said he gives little thought to how long he will live: I'm not wishing for anything."
His enjoys Solitaire, and watching Jeopardy," The Price is Right," and Wheel of Fortune." He catches every Blue Jays and Leafs game on TV that he can.
LeMesurier lives in Los Angeles but will be at the Hamilton parade along with ten family members.
I'm so grateful he will be honoured," she said. To have the opportunity to enjoy something so special is a dream come true."
When asked what Sunday will mean to him, Mastromatteo said he looks forward to it, and believes it will be his last chance to attend such an event.
The Argylls have arranged for him to observe the start of the parade, meet commanding officer Lt.-Col. Carlo Tittarelli, and then adjourn to relax at the armoury.
From there he will take in the conclusion to the event, when the regiment marches back.
This is when he will hear the Argyll Pipes and Drums play the traditional Black Bear," punctuated by soldiers calling out together, and finally, the The Campbells Are Coming," a song that stretches back hundreds of years through the Scottish mists of time.
The music is a reminder, in one sense, of the ceaseless nature of war, but also of camaraderie, honour and duty.
They are songs with which the old soldier is familiar, and perhaps the eternal soaring notes will remain with him as companions on the journey home.
Jon Wells is a feature writer at The Spectator. jwells@thespec.com