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Media Advisory

Battle of the Atlantic Parade

CMS / CEMFM 06.002 - May 4, 2006

OTTAWA – The 61st anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic will be marked by a parade and remembrance service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 7th at the National War Memorial.  Over 400 veterans, serving members of the Canadian Forces, and cadets will join dignitaries to commemorate this pivotal event in our country’s history.

Following the ceremony, a reception will be held at the Government Conference Centre, 2 Rideau St, from 12:00 to 1:30 pm. Veterans will be available to recount their wartime stories and experiences to interested members of the media.

The Battle of the Atlantic, the fight for supremacy of the North Atlantic during the Second World War, was waged from 1939 until 1945, and is considered to be the longest running campaign of the war.  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 Allies in Europe. 

Although the Battle of the Atlantic was fought at sea, it touched the life of virtually every Canadian, as men and women from across the country served in the Navy, Air Force and Merchant Navy defending an overseas trade that was vital to all of Canada.

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 among the largest navies in the world.

The RCN and the Merchant Navy made nearly 26,000 safe crossings of the North Atlantic, carrying over 181 million tons of cargo. Without these supplies, the Allied war effort would have collapsed.

The Battle of the Atlantic ended with V-E Day on May 8, 1945.

For information on other activities taking place in local communities, please contact LCdr Graeme Arbuckle at (819) 997-8335.

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