| Rank | Private |
| Unit # | 1st Special Service Force US/Canadian |
Of Thamesville, ON. The CDN 21/10/44 reported that Pte. McAdams was aboard the hospital ship Lady Nelson which was returning 13 officers and 108 ‘other ranks’ who would be arriving in Toronto on 20 October, 1944.
Pte. McAdams had been trained for a paratrooper until they discovered he was underage at Camp Shilo. He was successful in getting back in uniform and was serving in the 1st Special Service Force. The 1st SSF took part in the attack on Anzio until a German shell “toppled him off a 40 foot cliff. For eight weeks he was in a hospital being treated for a fractured spine.”
He apparently became tired of hospital life and “after asking for a pass out of the hospital he traded his ‘blues’ (hospital gown) to a friend and got back to his unit. For 91 days McAdams was ‘over the hill’ fighting in the thick of things. His nerves caught up with him though, and the unit medical officer had him slated for return to Canada.
Leonard said that he joined the 1st SSF two years ago (1942) because they were going to be the “spearhead in every drive of the British, American and French. We were the first guys into Rome”.
Curators Note: There were Canadian troops on the outskirts of Rome and they were ordered not to enter Rome before the American forces. JRH.
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