Several people gathered this afternoon to honour those who took part in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Today saw multiple Battle of the Atlantic commemoration ceremonies across Canada, including Comox, with the ceremonies focused on honouring the Royal Canadian Navy members who fought in the battle during the Second World War.
The Comox ceremony saw speeches, a roll call of the ships lost during the battle, music, and a CP-140 Aurora aircraft from 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron performing a flyby over the Comox Marina.
President of the Comox Valley Branch of the Royal Canadian Naval Association Steve Cowan says the flyby is very important because of history.
“During the battle, it wasn’t just sailors and ships at sea, there was aircraft involved as well,” said Cowen.
“From our point of view locally, 407 Squadron’s job in World War 2 was to protect the ships at sea, so their heritage goes back to that time. To have a flyby come over at the designated time is significant for the simple fact that ships don’t fly, and it’s easier to get an aircraft to come by then a frigate.”
Cowen says the ceremony is part of an ongoing recognition of Canadian history and heritage, so having people come out and recognize the service of their family and veterans who served after the war is important.
The battle, which ran from 1939 to 1945, saw 1,797 Navy members dead, 319 wounded, and 31 warships destroyed.
