Last known surviving WWII vet from Hamilton regiment celebrates 104th birthday

The last known surviving Second World War veteran of a Hamilton-based regiment turns 104 Friday. 

Tony Mastromatteo, now an honorary lance corporal with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, served in a Canadian Forces scout platoon remembered for its bravery, but his daughter says he never talked much about it. 

"I think after my mom died in 2017 he realized that he should," Mastromatteo's daughter Laura LeMesurier told CBC Hamilton in an email. "We have had some of the best conversations ever."

The centenarian lives at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto's North York area, where they specialize in veteran's care. He's set to celebrate his birthday with friends and family at a nearby restaurant on May 16.

Through his daughter, Mastromatteo told CBC Hamilton his birthday is "nothing special." 

LeMesurier, who lives in Los Angeles but travelled to Toronto to see her dad this week, said it's "amazing" to be able to celebrate the occasion with him. 

"I love hearing his stories," she said. 

Most veterans chose not to share their stories, historian says

Although his three children didn't know it until a few years ago, Mastromatteo has quite the story from his time fighting in the war, Argylls historian Robert Fraser told CBC Hamilton.

When Fraser met the former private in the mid '90s, the Burlington, Ont., based historian was working on an oral history project and Mastromatteo declined an interview, but about three years ago, he changed his mind.

Fraser wrote a piece about the veteran for the Argylls in November 2022, covering his early life, time in war and life after, when Mastromatteo worked as a clerk at the Woodbine racetrack and as a crossing guard in Toronto's Beaches neighbourhood, and raised three children with his wife Mary.

Fraser described Mastromatteo as a "warrior" whose experience in the Argylls' wartime scout platoon "almost always involved crawling" and often behind German lines. 

He said it's not unusual for a veteran to keep their experiences to themselves. Fraser said he's interviewed hundreds of Second World War veterans and many said they did not talk about the war with their families.

"The experience of death in battle and seeing and being part of a history — as one veteran put it: bought by blood — was just something almost too terrible to talk about," Fraser said, adding many veterans he interviewed "broke down" recounting battles. 

Argylls remembered for contribution to 1944 capture of Hill 195

Mastromatteo saw his share of horrors on the battlefield, Fraser said, including in one notable battle in France in August 1944 when the Argylls were part of an effort to capture and hold a high point called Hill 195 after a previous group of Canadian soldiers had been unsuccessful. 

Scouts like Mastromatteo helped guide their forces single file across enemy lines at night in what is now remembered as a "great feat of infiltration," Fraser said, calling it "one of the great achievements in the history of the Argylls."

Mastromatteo was "humble" in discussing the war, Fraser said, describing his actions as just doing his job. "I did it, did what I was supposed to. I wouldn't want to do it again, that's for sure – once was enough," he quoted the veteran as saying in his article.  

Speaking to CBC Hamilton last week, on the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, Fraser said it's important Canadians know the stories of people like Mastromatteo.

"The world remains a dangerous place," he said, and "there are times when notions such as duty — which assumes sacrifice— [not just] of time and energy but of life and limb — are required."

Mastromatteo has stayed involved with the Argylls. A December 2024 newsletter includes a message from Mastromatteo about his experience participating in Hamilton Garrison's parade on Nov. 10.

"My family and my attendants were a bit concerned about the wet weather. I wanted to go, however. I've been wet before, and it wasn't night, I didn't have to crawl, and there was no one shooting at me. Not too bad!" he said.

When asked what she hopes people can learn from her dad's story, LeMesurier said it's that he was "just an ordinary man."

"He needed to step up and so he did. We can all step up."