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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]
| 62nd Field Artillery Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1961 as Field Artillery Regiment |
| Country | Canada |
| Branch | Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery |
| Role | Field Artillery |
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]
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]
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]
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.
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 of the regiment are:
- Gabriel Chrétien, brother of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien;
- Jacques Duchesneau, Chief of Police of the Montreal Urban Community from 1994 to 1998 and Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment since 2005;
- Gérard Dufresne, Mayor of Shawinigan from 1963 to 1966 and Honorary Colonel of the regiment from 1966 to 2005;
- Yves Duhaime, Provincial Cabinet Member from 1976 to 1985;
- Jean-Pierre Frigon, history teacher at Saint-Tite's Paul-Le Jeune High School and recipient of the Governor General's Award;[5]
- Antonio Lamer (1933–2007), Chief Justice of Canada from 1990 to 2000 and Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment from 1992 to 1998;
- Victoriaville native Yannick Pépin (1973–2009), who reached the rank of Master Bombardier with the 62nd Regiment in the 1990s, before joining the 5 Combat Engineer Regiment (Major Pépin died in the line of duty while commanding a unit in the War in Afghanistan);[6]
- Ben Weider (1923–2008), Co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB), Jewish businessman from Montreal and Honorary Colonel of the regiment from 2005 until his death in 2008.
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