Canadian Virtual War Memorial
J R Romeo Dionne
In memory of:
Deck Hand J R Romeo Dionne
May 8, 1942
Military Service
20
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Mont Louis (Montréal, Québec) (147791)
Additional Information
April 29, 1922
Montreal, Quebec
His full name is Joseph Roméo Roger Dionne.
Son of Hector Dionne and Berthulie St-Pierre, of Montreal, Québec.
On May 9, 1942, at 2:12 a.m., Mont Louis was torpedoed by U-162 southwest of Trinidad, in the Caribbean sea, and sank immediately, position 08°23'N/58°44'W.
Commemorated on Page 126 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.
Digital Collection
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Details
Newspaper Clipping – Deck Hand J R Romeo Dionne was one of 13 members of the crew of S.S. Mont Louis who were lost at sea when the vessel was torpedoed off the coast of Guyana by U-162 on May 8, 1942. Eight members of the crew survived. U-162 torpedoed and sank 14 ships from September 1941 until, September 3, 1942, when she was sunk north-east of Trinadad by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Vimy, HMS Pathfinder and HMS Quentin. 49 of her crew of 51 survived. Source: Globe and Mail, July 7, 1942. -
Details
Mont Louis – Source: Historical Collection of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University (Uboat.net) -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Gazette. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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