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It was the longest military campaign of World War II (14 photos)

Local cadets, military, and veterans had an annual parade and service to keep the memory of the Battle of the Atlantic alive

From the opening days of WWII in 1939 until Germany’s surrender in 1945, Canada’s naval fleet, along with other Allied forces, fought with German U-boats and other warships in what is described as the longest running military campaign of WWII, the Battle of the Atlantic.

On Sunday, the Sault’s cadets, military, and assorted retired veterans held their annual parade and service to commemorate the over 3,000 Canadian military and civilian casualties of that long campaign.

Out of the Canadian lives and ships lost in the Battle of Atlantic there were 1,797 Navy personnel and 24 ships, 380 combined Army and Air Force personal, as well as nine merchant ships and over a 1,000 civilians.

“The American’s get a lot of credit for the Battle of the Atlantic but it should be remembered that during the early years of this conflict Canada and Great Britain were fighting this basically alone,” said LT(N) Nicholas Fraser instructor with the Sault’s RCSCC Royal Sovereign Sea Cadets.

Fraser said that the Battle of the Atlantic and World War II were a sort of proving ground for Canada as a nation and that “we went from being a colony of Great Britain to a much stronger and independent nation.”

Before the Battle of Atlantic, the Canadian Navy had only 13 ships.

By the time the war ended Canada had the fourth-largest Navy in the world behind the Soviet Union, The United States, and Great Britain.

During Sunday's commemoration, a parade marched from the Station Mall, down the boardwalk to Compass Point Park across from the Civic Centre where the service was held, and back to the mall.

During the Service, the “HMCS Soo” bell was rung 33 times, once for each of the military and civilian vessels that were sunk, and 13 more times for the fallen former-Sea Cadets from Sault Ste. Marie that died during the Battle of the Atlantic.

This was followed by the tossing of wreaths into the St. Mary’s River to commemorate those who died.

The first wreath was thrown by veteran Laurie MacKenzie who actually served aboard the HMCS Sault Ste. Marie during the Battle of the Atlantic.

The ceremony is always held on the first Sunday in May.

The following local organizations participated in the parade and service:

RCSCC Royal Sovereign Sea Cadets

Navy League Cadets from NLCC Newman

RCACS 115 Air

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25

Royal Canadian Navy Veterans

The Air Force Association

Korean War Veterans

The Canadian Merchant Navy

“The event is to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic and keep it fresh in our minds. Its to remember those that didn’t come home so that we can enjoy the liberties that we have today,” said Lt-Cdr Robert Pihlaja, regional Cadet advisor for Northern Ontario.


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Jeff Klassen

About the Author: Jeff Klassen

Jeff Klassen is a SooToday staff reporter who is always looking for an interesting story
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