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62nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

62nd Field Artillery Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Active1961 as Field Artillery Regiment
CountryCanada
BranchRoyal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
RoleField Artillery

The 62nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (French: 62e Régiment d'artillerie de campagne, ARC) is a militia unit of the Canadian Army that has its own military band and is located in Shawinigan, Quebec. It recruits primarily in Shawinigan, Joliette and Victoriaville.[1][2]

Origin

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Its oldest and most notable subunit is the 81st Field Artillery Battery, which was founded in the Eastern Townships in 1912 and relocated in Shawinigan, Mauricie in 1936.[citation needed]

World War II

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The battery was called to active duty during World War II. Its members were trained in Ontario and the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1944. In 1944-45, the 81st Battery contributed to the Allies' effort in the Normandy Landings, which led to the Liberation of France.[citation needed]

Anti-aircraft Unit

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In 1946-48, members of the Shawinigan-based C Company of the Régiment de Joliette joined those of the 81st Battery to form the 62nd Regiment. From that moment until 1961, the newly formed unit served in an anti-aircraft capacity.[citation needed]

Field artillery

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Since 1961, the regiment has been a field artillery unit. Its equipment consists of 105 mm towed howitzers. Its armoury is currently located at 5315 Boulevard Royal, Shawinigan.[3]

A substantial number of the 62nd Regiment reservists attend Collège Shawinigan.

Every year on Remembrance Day weekend, members of the regiment gather near the Monument des Braves cenotaph and conduct a ceremony to commemorate soldiers who died on the field of honour. They also parade in the streets of downtown Shawinigan and Grand-Mère.

Contributions since World War II

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Even though the 62nd Regiment has not served in active duty since World War II, it provided personnel for a number of operations, including:[4]

Well-known members

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Well-known members of the regiment are:

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Defence, National (2019-01-28). "62nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  2. ^ J.J. Bellemare, 60 ans d'artillerie en Mauricie, Shawinigan
  3. ^ "62e Régiment d'artillerie de campagne, Shawinigan, Quebec, The Royal Regiment of Artillery". Archived from the original on 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  4. ^ Un bel hommage aux soldats du 62e RAC de retour d'Afghanistan, L'Hebdo Mékinac des Chenaux, April 20, 2008
  5. ^ Isabelle Légaré, Un Prix du premier ministre Harper pour Jean-Pierre Frigon, Le Nouvelliste, October 10, 2009
  6. ^ Yanick Poisson, Victoriaville rendra hommage au major Yannick Pépin, La Tribune, September 15, 2009

Precedence

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Preceded by 62nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA Succeeded by