Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Eugene John Keegan
In memory of:
Donkeyman Eugene John Keegan
May 24, 1942
North Atlantic
Military Service
25
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Zurichmoor (London, England) (148669)
Additional Information
January 1, 1917
Kinsale, Ireland
Husband of Frances Keegan, of Montreal, Province of Quebec.
On 23 May 1942, the Zurichmoor sailed alone in ballast from Halifax, Nova Scotia, towards St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. At 0:24 am, she was torpedoed by U-432 and sank in less than 90 seconds about 400 miles (644 km) east of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in position 39°30'N/66°00'W. The captain, 38 crew members and 6 gunners lost their lives. The loss of this vessel was reported to the naval authorities on the 24th.
Commemorated on Page 164 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 20.
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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