Last Watch

[Cloud Cover]

I posted this in the general forums, but one or two of you know what this guy was all about.

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings Provisions of the Copyright Act, RSC 1985 with grateful appreciation to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

C B C . C A  N e w s  -  F u l l  S t o r y :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Canadian naval hero Desmond Piers dies
Last Updated Thu, 03 Nov 2005 12:20:15 EST
CBC News
Retired rear admiral Desmond Piers, the Canadian navy commander who led convoys through submarine-infested waters during the Second World War, died Tuesday at the age of 92.

When he was 28, the Halifax-born Piers took the helm of HMCS Restigouche, leading merchant convoys across the submarine-infested Atlantic to Europe for two years.

 
Retired rear admiral Desmond Piers. 
He took command of HMCS Algonquin when he was 30, giving fire support to Canadian and Allied forces during the invasion of Normandy.

He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In part, the citation with the medal reads: "He has by his vigorous leadership and aggressive attack been an inspiration to those under his command."

Piers was also inducted into France's Legion d'Honneur in 2004.

He became a rear admiral in 1962 and retired in 1967, after 35 years of service.


Copyright ©2005 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved 

 

[Cloud Cover]

  :'( 

Well done HMCS Toronto

C B C . C A  N e w s  -  F u l l  S t o r y :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Naval hero mourned
Last Updated Fri, 18 Nov 2005 17:19:15 EST
CBC News
More than 1,000 mourners filled three churches in Chester, N.S. on Friday to bid farewell to a Second World War Canadian naval hero.

Rear Admiral Desmond Piers died on Nov. 1, aged 92.

 
Desmond Piers 

FROM NOV. 3, 2005: Canadian naval hero Desmond Piers dies

Piers, a professional sailor from 1932 until his retirement, helped evacuate Allied soldiers from France in 1940, fought in the Atlantic convoy battles and was commander of HMCS Algonquin during the D-Day invasion in 1944.

France awarded him its highest military medal, L'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur, and he won the Distinguished Service Cross for his service at sea during the convoy battles.

"We did our stuff, we were very lucky and we survived it," he said in 2004.

At the memorial, his leadership and humility were praised.

After the war, he served in top Canadian and NATO military jobs, including chairman of the Canada's Joint Staff and commander of the Canadian defence liaison staff in Washington.

The services were held at St. Stephen's Anglican Church, while St. Augustine's and Chester United Baptist Church carried live feeds.

After the service, his remains were brought aboard HMCS Toronto for return to Halifax and placement in the naval crypt at St. Paul's Anglican Church.


Copyright ©2005 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved 

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings Provisions of the Copyright Act, with grateful acknowledgement to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

[Navalsnpr]

Hero sails away home

A photograph of rear admiral Desmond Piers smiles out at his family and friends during a memorial service for the naval hero at St. Stephen's Anglican Church in Chester on Friday. The Second World War veteran died Nov. 1 at the age of 92. The admiral was decorated with many medals for distinguished service and bravery throughout his career, especially for his actions during the D-Day invasion at Normandy.(PETER PARSONS / Staff)​

Thousands fill three churches to pay respects to admiral Desmond Piers
By BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau

CHESTER â ” Well into his 70s, retired rear admiral Desmond Piers was still doing handstands on the lawn of his home, known as the Quarterdeck, overlooking the waters of Chester Harbour.

More recently, he would sit back after a family dinner, strike a note on the rim of his glass and watch his family sing and dance as he played a jig on his harmonica.

These and other heartwarming memories flooded forth Friday at a memorial service for the former commander of a navy destroyer that helped lead Canadian and other Allied soldiers to victory in Normandy on D-Day.

"Somehow, Chester will never be quite the same without him," Mr. Piers's great-grandson Justin Baker said in an emotional service at St. Stephen's Anglican Church.

Mr. Piers died Nov. 1 at age 92.

He was a man, Justin said, who proved his love for country and family by the way he lived every day.

It took three churches to hold those who had come to honour and celebrate the life of Mr. Piers, known as Debby to his friends. The nickname had stuck since childhood when his mother affectionately called him Desy â ” a moniker that youngsters found too difficult to get their tongues around.

Such a show of admiration and respect was, said Rear Admiral Dan McNeil of Maritime Forces Atlantic, a true measure of the good man Mr. Piers was.

When he was born, the Canadian navy was only three years old and it had just two ships. He came of age, as did the Canadian navy, during the Second World War, when Canada's navy grew to become the third largest in the world.

Mr. Piers was just 28 when he took the helm of HMCS Restigouche, for two years leading merchant convoys across the submarine-infested waters of the Atlantic. At 30, he took command of HMCS Algonquin, giving fire support during the invasion of Normandy.

He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and inducted into France's Legion d'Honneur last year, that country's highest honour for bravery in military action and service.

Friday's service was held in the very church Mr. Piers attended as a young boy with his mother during summers spent in Chester.

He left the navy 38 years ago and returned to this community and his church. Indeed, the ensign that flew on HMCS Algonquin as he commanded it on D-Day is displayed in the church nave.

It had been decades since Mr. Piers sailed on a Canadian navy ship, but he set sail one final time Friday as his widow Janet, surrounded by family, friends and dignitaries, looked on from the back lawn of their home as HMCS Toronto sailed into the harbour with all hands standing at attention.

The Canadian flag on the lawn flew at half-mast as mourners gathered for a toast to honour the man who had earned their respect for his actions during times of war and peace. Mr. Piers's great-granddaughters stood on the jetty under a warm sun, gently wiping tears from their eyes as Rev. Jim McCorriston handed an urn containing Mr. Piers's ashes to a navy member who sailed out to the waiting ship.

As the Zodiac pulled away, Mrs. Piers lifted her hand in brief farewell, then turned to a circle of family and friends, many of them in uniform, and raised her glass in a toast.

Then she turned back to the water, lifting her glass in salute with a warm smile on her face â ” a tribute to a man who lived an accomplished life, and lived it well.

The Toronto fired a 13-gun salute. As the ship passed the golf course where Mr. Piers spent countless hours, it fired off one last parting shot.

Mr. Piers's ashes will be laid to rest in the naval columbarium at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Halifax's Grand Parade.

When Janet Piers married her husband 64 years ago, she also married the navy. She would stand in Halifax's Point Pleasant Park, holding daughter Anne's hand as she watch her husband sail to sea yet again. He spent all but four of the 68 months of the Second World War at sea.

Mr. Piers proposed to his future bride during a dinner on board HMCS Restigouche, on which he was serving when the Second World War broke out, said Rear Admiral McNeil. They married on a 10-day break during which sailors fashioned a kneeling bench, a cross and candlesticks.

Grandson and namesake Piers Baker said he clearly remembers his grandfather stomping his feet and playing his ever-present harmonica on his 90th birthday, a vivid snapshot of how great he was at giving joy to others.

"I'm so proud to be able to say Admiral Desmond Piers was my grandfather," he said.

The Piers ensured a rink was built in Chester, but didn't stop there. They laced up their own skates and went out onto the ice to teach children how to skate.

Mr. Piers didn't do anything by halves, the priest said. With his wife at his side, a job wasn't finished until it was done properly and Father McCorriston said that taught everyone around him "to do all and be all they might be in the world God so loved."

( [email protected])