Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Harry Kaminsky
In memory of:
Fireman Harry Kaminsky
September 3, 1942
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Military Service
17
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Donald Stewart (Montréal, Québec) (147765)
Additional Information
January 1, 1925
His real name is Hertzel Kaminsky and he was jewish.
Son of Soloman Kaminsky and Rysza Leja (aka Rachel Lea) Kolner of Biaslistok, Russia, now Poland.
On 3 September 1942 at 7.56 am, while sailing with convoy LN-7, the Donald Stewart was torpedoed by U-517 north-east of Cape Whittle, near Blanc-Salon, Quebec, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and sank by the stern, position 50°32'N/58°46'W. Three sailors lost their lives. The survivors were picked up by the Canadian corvettes HMCS Shawinigan (K136) and HMCS Trail (K174) and landed in Quebec City.
Commemorated on Page 163 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 21.
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:
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.
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