CMS NR07.001 - May 4, 2007
OTTAWA - Several guests will be on hand to commemorate World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic at the National War Memorial on Sunday, May 6 at 11 am. Those in attendance will include The Honourable Gordon O’Connor, Minister of National Defence, Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson, Chief of the Maritime Staff, veterans, serving members of the Canadian Forces, and cadets, among other guests.
Sunday’s events will commence with a parade starting at 10:10 a.m., marching from the Government Conference Centre, 2 Rideau Street, to the War Memorial. This will be followed by a short remembrance service. On completion of the ceremony there will be a reception for parade participants at the Government Conference Centre.
World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic, the fight for supremacy of the North Atlantic, was waged from 1939 until 1945. The battle pitted Allied naval and air forces against German U-boats, whose primary targets were the convoys of merchant ships carrying vital life-sustaining cargo from North America to Europe.
Much of the burden of fighting the Battle of the Atlantic fell to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). At the outbreak of war, the RCN was comprised of only six destroyers and a handful of smaller vessels. By the end of the war the RCN was the third largest navy in the world.
The Battle of the Atlantic ended with V-E Day on May 8, 1945.
I think the most memorable Battle of Atlantic Ceremony was in 2001 on HMCS Winnipeg on route to the Gulf. Alas, I hope one day I will depart beautiful and picturesque Trenton for Halifax and back to the NAVY. :cdnsalute:
