Cadet corps and veterans pay tribute to Battle of the Atlantic

It was the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War, and by the time it ended, cost the lives of 1,600 Canadian merchant sailors.

On Sunday, cadets from RCSC Hero in Espanola, the Admiral Mountbatten Sea Cadet Corps in Sudbury and the Sudbury Navy League Cadet Corps joined representatives from the Royal Canadian Navy Association, the Merchant Navy, the Manitoulin and North Shore Naval Veterans Association, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76 and Veterans Affairs Canada to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic.

“The freedoms we enjoy today are a direct result of the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for us,” said Lt. Sean Pretty, who led a procession in Memorial Park Sunday morning.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the Battle of the Atlantic the “dominating factor” all through the Second World War. “Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome,” he said.

The battle ended up being a strategic victory for the Allies, but it came at a high cost; 3,500 merchant marine ships were lost, along with 175 warships.

Memorial Park includes plaques with the names of members of the Royal Canadian Navy, and Canadian merchant marines who lost their lives in the battle.

For Pretty, who is a teacher in his civilian life, it is especially important that today's youth remember the sacrifices thousands of Canadians made more than 70 years ago.