Interview with Dan Del Villano (March 09, 2022)

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Interviewer: Katelyn Luymes Interviewee: Dan Del Villano An interview/narrative of Dan Del Villano's experiences serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. Interview took place on March 9, 2022 over a video call. ABSTRACT: The interview focuses on Dan Del Villano’s experience growing up in a military family. His father, Major Gary Del Villano, served in the Canadian Army in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, and the beginning of the interview provides a brief summary of Major Del Villano’s career. Del Villano describes the impact frequent relocations had on his family, his parents’ decision to primarily live in civilian housing, and the process of making new friends after moving. Del Villano describes his memories from living in Germany when his father was posted there. Del Villano heavily focuses on the desire to settle down and live in one location once he was ready to start a family and cites it as the primary impact military life had on him. He also reflects on his mother’s role as a non-serving spouse and her career as an educator, communication options while his father was deployed or training, and his work in the Communications Reserve and career in the Foreign Service. Del Villano concludes the interview expressing his perceptions of military life, his “counterculture” view of the military, and his appreciation for his parents. 0:47 – 6:00 – Del Villano briefly outlines his father’s career and postings in Gagetown, Frederickton, Barry, Iserlohn and Lahr (Germany), Saint-Hubert/Chambly, and Halifax. 6:00 – 7:00 – Describes living in military and civilian housing. 7:00 – 10:27 – Explains his mother’s perception of the military and her dislike of the hierarchical structure. 10:28 – 15:00 – Describes relocating, the sadness of leaving friends; anecdote about brothers’ plans to run away during the next move; anecdote about requesting to be posted in Yellowknife or Whitehorse for the adventure. 15:02 – 20:00 – Shares memories of living in Germany; anecdotes about Family Day at the base, skating, and flying on the Royal Air Force’s Hercules C.Mk 1 to visit extended family in Britain. 20:00 – 22:47 – Describes his relationship with his extended family and communication technology; tells anecdote about his father trying to bring Canadian snow back to Germany. 22:51 – 26:37 – Describes the impact of relocating as a child and the desire to settle down in Victoria and to give his daughters a single hometown. 26:38 – 30:47 – Describes the process of relocating and the few memories he has of moving; remembers the smell of the wooden moving boxes but not the logistics. 30:50 – 35:48 – Describes the process of making friends and community groups; shares his father-in-law’s struggles with relocating as a child of a military family. 35:39 – 37:00 – Del Villano reflects on the differences between his childhood and his daughters’. 37:05 – 43:25 – Reflects on his father’s deployments and summers spent training at Aldershot; remembers camping at Aldershot for a few summers. 43:26 – 46:00 – Reflects on communication options and the cost of phone calls; recalls Parish control of phone calls; recalls the Snowball drills in Germany. 46:00 – 52:45 – Describes his interest in the Communications Reserve and finding his career in the Foreign Service; mentions postings in New York, Croatia, Sweden, Ottawa. 52:45 – 1:00:44 – Del Villano shares his thoughts on the Canadian Forces and his ambivalence towards Remembrance Day, describes the experience of veterans sharing their stories with his father; shares anecdote about two neighbours who had been on opposite sides during the Second World War; recalls noticing homeless veterans and hearing their experiences. 1:00:55 – 1:06:21 – Recalls the negative experiences of moving, feeling uncomfortable on base and mentions the hierarchy of the Forces and in Foreign Affairs; remembers the first time he saw a man with a ponytail. 1:06:24 – 1:11:28 – Shares positive community experiences and support; reflects on his appreciation of being aware of the nuance regarding the perception of Canadian Forces.

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Identifier
  • Interview #SC141_DVD_895
Keyword Date created Relation
  • Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews (HIST 426, Spring 2022).
Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 01:11:59
Alternative title
  • Relocating Expectations: The Impact of Military Life on Canadian Forces Dependants
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 51.5, 10.5
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • Accession Number: 2022-020; Series: IV; Item: 895
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • March 9, 2022
Technical note
  • Interview done through an online video call, MP4, 3.81 GB. Metadata by KD.
Rights
  • This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
DOI

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