Reece, Oswald

Oswald Reece – Ozzie – was born March 17, 1951 in Guyana.  He came from a military tradition, with a number of relatives having served alongside British troops in the world wars.  He came to Canada when he was young, and completed his schooling in Toronto.  As Ozzie recalls, he always wanted a kilt, so as soon as finished school in 1975 he went to join the forces, ending up in the 48th Highlanders.  In his third year he did an overseas deployment to West Germany, where he participated in training with NATO forces.  Ozzie took part in several UN peacekeeping missions too, serving in Cyprus, the Golan Heights and Egypt, helping to preserve fragile ceasefires in trouble spots around the Mediterranean.  Ozzie remained in the reserves for many years, and he became a well-known and well-liked member of the 48th Highlanders.  Crestwood students were able to interview Ozzie at the Sunnybrook Veterans’ Wing in December 2023.

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