Bob joined the United States Navy on his eighteenth birthday and served from June 16, 1944 till March 10, 1946. He was assigned to the Armed Guard service which provided armed protection onboard merchant ships.

He sailed on the SS Paulus Hook and the SS Marine Angel, oil tankers which transported fuel to the U.K and France. At the conclusion of hostilities he was assigned to the 19th inactive fleet, responsible for decommissioning warships returning from the eastern theatre.

Bob returned from the war where he settled in Toronto, Canada and pursued a career in teaching. He married Margaret Elizabeth Barr in 1948 and together they raised a wonderful loving family of three children, Janet Elizabeth, Robert Gordon and Catherine Ann.

He has been a guiding light to the three of us and a wonderful example of the values which so many people fought to protect.

The theme of this panel is the Atlantic Alliance, the relationship established between Canada and the United States during the Second World War.

Throughout our history, Canada and the United States have sought to develop economies, political systems and ideologies which define our independence while also developing one of the most successful international relationships in the world.

Throughout both World Wars Canada remained a loyal part of the British Empire but during the Second World War Canada’s alliance with the United States strengthened. Nowhere was the need for cooperation between the two countries more necessary than in the waters of the Atlantic.

With the threat of a German and Japanese invasion threatening the shores of North America, Canadians and Americans worked together to protect the coastline as well as the Atlantic convoys bearing essential supplies and manpower overseas.