Last surviving Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders WWII veteran turns 104

A special birthday celebration will be held this afternoon in Toronto for the sole remaining WWII member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada.

Lance Corporal (LCpl.) Tony Mastromatteo of the Hamilton regiment turns 104 today and will be presented with a ceremonial coin to honour what the regiment describes as their “most experienced” Argyll.

He first enlisted at the Hamilton armouries in 1940 and later served in the Canadian Forces scout platoon.

The Argylls helped to capture and hold a strategic battle area in August 1944 in France after a previous group of Canadian soldiers had been unsuccessful. Over 3,300 Argylls served in the Second World War.

“I am the last of the Argyll Second War vets, all my comrades-in-arms are gone. This generation of Argylls, from those serving in the ranks to the RSM and the CO, has written a wonderful chapter in this part of my life, providing my family and me with lasting and cherished memories,” LCpl. Mastromatteo wrote in a Christmas letter last year.

The veteran lives at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in North York, which specializes in the care of war vets.

A Canadian Army Reserve infantry battalion, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s) were established in September 1903.

READ MORE: Airbus opens new helicopter distribution centre in Niagara Falls