Members of HMCS Hunter, local veterans, politicians and others will join together this weekend to commemorate the sacrifices made by the Canadian sailors who fought valiantly in the North Atlantic during the Second World War.
HMCS Hunter and Maritime Forces Pacific are hosting the 2024 Battle of the Atlantic Parade at Navy Monument Plaza downtown on Sunday, beginning at 1:45 p.m.
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, which was the longest naval battle of World War II.
Bryan Eidukas-Mooney, Petty Officer 1st class at HMCS Hunter, says they commemorate the sacrifices on the first Sunday in May every year.
"The Canadian Navy, the Sea Cadets, the local Air Cadets along with the Royal Canadian Naval Association will be marching from past the Great Canadian Flag to the Dieppe Park. We will be commemorating the airmen and the sailors that were lost during World War II," he said.
Eidukas-Mooney says while the march begins at 1:45, the actual ceremony should get going at 2 p.m.
"Typically it's less than an hour, we'll have a couple of bands there with the Sea Cadets playing as well. There will be a list of all the ships that were lost in the Battle of Atlantic, followed by a ringing of a bell for each."
There will also be a laying of wreaths by the commanding officer at HMCS Hunter.
He says there will be no traffic impacts as a result of the march and parade.
"So we'll be marching along the bike path, so there might be some interruption for the bike path along the river but only for the few minutes that we're making our way towards where the locomotive is to Dieppe Gardens. So it's a very short jaunt, so there will be no impact to vehicle traffic and minor impact to the bike path there," he said.
Eidukas-Mooney says everyone in the community is invited to the ceremony, which will be taking place rain or shine.