Kingston’s naval community gathered at the Naval Memorial Park over the weekend to mark the 79th anniversary of the end of what is said to be the longest battle during the Second World War.
The city’s reserve division joined nearly two dozen other divisions across the country to commemorate the lives lost during the Battle of the Atlantic. According to the government of Canada, the campaign began in 1939 and finally concluded in 1945.
By that time, nearly 3,000 Canadian naval and Air Force personnel had lost their lives. About 1,600 civilian merchant sailors are said to have died as well.
“A lot of it is to commemorate the thousands of sailors that died (and) the dozens of ships that we lost during that battle,” said Francois Desjardins, the commanding officer of HMCS Cataraqui, Kingston’s naval reserve division.
“And to commemorate the sacrifices that we (made).”
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The names of the ships and personnel lost were read out as part of the ceremony.
Ceremonial events were held in other parts of the country as well, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia.
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