Hundreds of soldiers in Afghanistan received a drink of rum, warm water and brown sugar Sunday, to mark the 125th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Royal Canadian Dragoons.
It was the same drink offered to members in 1943 during the Battle of Ortona, one of the fiercest close-quarter battles of the Second World War.
Canadians fought German soldiers in the Italian town, forcing them to withdraw after more than a week of fighting, and at the cost of nearly 1,500 comrades.
On Sunday, nearly 300 Canadian soldiers from those same military units celebrated the anniversary in Afghanistan, lining up for the traditional drink and toasting the occasion.
