Editing Farley Mowat (section)

==War service==
During [[World War II]], Mowat joined the [[Canadian Army]] and was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[second lieutenant]] into the Second Battalion, [[The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment]] (affectionately known as the ''Hasty Ps'') on 19 July 1940.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Canada Gazette |volume=74 |number=21 |page=1772  |date=23 November 1940 |newspaper=The Canada Gazette}}</ref> He went overseas as a reinforcement officer for that regiment, joining the Canadian Army in the [[United Kingdom]]. On July 10, 1943, he was a [[Subaltern (military)|subaltern]] in command of a [[Platoon|rifle platoon]] and participated in the initial landings of [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Operation Husky]], the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]].<ref>''And No Birds Sang'', p. 7</ref>

Mowat served throughout the campaign as a platoon commander and moved to Italy<ref name="death TorStar" /> in September 1943, seeing further combat until December 1943. During the [[Moro River Campaign]], part of the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]], he suffered from [[Combat stress reaction|battle stress]], heightened after an incident on Christmas Day during the [[Battle of Ortona]], the "Italian Stalingrad", when he was left weeping at the feet of an unconscious friend, Lieutenant Allan (Al) Park, who had an enemy bullet in his head.<ref>''And No Birds Sang'', p. 259</ref> He then accepted a job as Intelligence Officer at battalion headquarters, later moving to Brigade Headquarters. He stayed in Italy with the [[1st Canadian Division|1st Canadian Infantry Division]] for most of the war and was eventually promoted to the rank of [[Captain (Canada)|captain]].

Mowat moved with the [[Division (military)|division]] to [[Western Front (World War II)|northwest Europe]] in early 1945. There, he worked as an intelligence agent in the Netherlands and went through enemy lines to start unofficial negotiations about food drops with [[Johannes Blaskowitz|General Blaskowitz]]. The food drops, during the final 10 days [[German Instrument of Surrender|before the surrender of Nazi Germany]], proceeded under the codenames [[Operations Manna and Chowhound|Operations Manna (Commonwealth air forces) and Chowhound (American)]], saving thousands of Dutch lives.<ref>[http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/04/27/history-april-27-1945-two-crazy-canadians-who-helped-a-starving-holland/ CBC Radio Canada International]</ref>

Mowat also formed the 1st Canadian Army Museum Collection Team,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://silverhawkauthor.com/canadian-war-trophies-book_326.html |title=Harold A. Skaarup: Canadian War Trophies |access-date=November 11, 2015 |archive-date=November 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104060939/http://silverhawkauthor.com/canadian-war-trophies-book_326.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> according to his book ''My Father's Son'', and arranged for the transport to Canada of several tons of German military equipment, including the piloted V1 rocket [[Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg]] and several armoured vehicles. <!--Believed vs. supported by  quality reference(s):  -->Some of these vehicles are on display today at [[Canadian Forces Base Borden]]'s tank museum,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-395-65029-5| title = My Fathers Son CL | work = Publishers Weekly | access-date =May 9, 2014 | date = January 4, 1993}}</ref> as well as the [[Canadian War Museum]] in [[Ottawa]].<ref>[https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/king-farley-mowat-and-the-story-of-canadas-lost-nazi-rocket Ottawa Citizen: Andrew King, November 7, 2014]</ref><ref>[https://legionmagazine.com/en/2014/09/war-museum-pays-tribute-to-farley-mowat/ Legion Magazine, September 2014]</ref>

Mowat was discharged at the end of World War II with the rank of captain. He was considered for promotion to [[Major (Canada)|major]]. However, he declined the offer as it would have required his volunteering to stay in the Army until "no longer needed", which Mowat assumed meant duty with the Canadian Army Occupation Force (CAOF) (but might also have meant the conclusion of the war with Japan).<ref>''My Father's Son'', p. 359</ref> He was entitled to the following medals as a result of his service: the [[1939–1945 Star]], the [[Italy Star]], the [[France and Germany Star]], the [[Defence Medal (United Kingdom)|Defence Medal]], the [[Canadian Volunteer Service Medal]] and the [[War Medal 1939–1945]].