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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Axel William Hukkanen

In memory of:

Able Seaman Axel William Hukkanen

February 5, 1942

Military Service

Service Number:

V/16102

Age:

29

Force:

Navy

Unit:

Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve

Division:

M.V. Montrolite (Montreal)

Additional Information

Son of William and Mary Hukkanen, of Port Arthur, Ontario.

Commemorated on Page 83 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information

Cemetery:

HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada

Grave Reference:

Panel 8.

Location:

The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:

1914-1939
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.

On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Photo of Bill Hukkanen– A.B. Bill Hukkanen, RCNVR, missing presumed dead in February1942 on tanker in the Atlantic. Photo courtesy of Hillcrest High School - "Stairway of Honour" project. Eighty-four large portraits of students from the Second World War line both sides of the 55 stairs leading up to the school's auditorium. Most of the portraits have the rank and year of death of the student. Some portraits explain how the soldier died, but many were MIA and presumed dead. Each year, teachers from the grade 10 Canadian History course take their students to the stairway around November 11th to complete a project that deals directly with the pictures on the Stairway of Honour.

    Details

    Photo of Bill Hukkanen
    Photo of Bill Hukkanen – A.B. Bill Hukkanen, RCNVR, missing presumed dead in February1942 on tanker in the Atlantic. Photo courtesy of Hillcrest High School - "Stairway of Honour" project. Eighty-four large portraits of students from the Second World War line both sides of the 55 stairs leading up to the school's auditorium. Most of the portraits have the rank and year of death of the student. Some portraits explain how the soldier died, but many were MIA and presumed dead. Each year, teachers from the grade 10 Canadian History course take their students to the stairway around November 11th to complete a project that deals directly with the pictures on the Stairway of Honour.

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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