John,
Thanks for setting me straight about the red-white-red flash. Mea culpa. I think that the absence of the flash on NZ vehicles serving under I Cdn Corps might have given me a tip to the wrong direction (that's right, blame the Kiwis!). Also I remember seeing the flash used in conjunction with the star on an M3 GMC marked "Acorn Inn", and since Acorn is a word associated with Canadian Armour...as Obi-Wan put it, "weak minds are easily influenced".
The rather extensive silencing of the Royal Canadians' entry into Rimini was another unknown, and, to be honest, quite a surprise. Although giving the III Bde the honour of liberating the town for morale reasons (or even as a reward for its first hard battle) is understandable, I fail to see how the "creative editing" of post-war history could have influenced things in Greece. Of course, the cold war is not exactly a time characterised by sanity. Interestingly enough, the New Zealanders' histories cheerfully record that their patrols (from units supporting the Greeks) were the first into Rimini.
Anyway, you've made a good case for the Scout to be from III Bde, and even if it turns out otherwise, it will still have been fun clearing it up! Thanks.
Best regards
Aris
|