On Saturday the 19th of August 2006 my uncle Jack Krupp passed away peacefully at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener Ontario.

Jack was many things to many people; son, brother, father, and husband. To me however, Jack was my uncle, my friend, and my mentor. A very large part of the reason I am in the navy today is due to my relationship with Jack. At a time when tyranny threatened the world, Jack as many young men did, answered the call to arms and at the young age of 19 he joined the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve. By joining the navy Jack took part in the longest battle ever fought in human history, The Battle of the North Atlantic. During his time in the navy Jack served on HMCS Saskatoon, a corvette, escorting convoys on the triangle run between Halifax, Boston, and St. John's. He also served on a minesweeper clearing mines in the English Channel.

Jack often spoke with me recounting his experiences while on board. He would tell me how the corvettes were miserable wet little ships. There was always water in the mess decks and he could hear the coke bottles floating around and clinking off of each other. Another favourite was about being on the upper decks chipping ice off of the ship. Everybody would be complaining and asking 'Why are we doing this?' If it gets much heavier we'll all be swimming home!' And everybody would start chipping a little harder and a little faster.

I made a point every Remembrance Day of going to the ceremonies at the cenotaph and then visiting with Jack for a few hours. If I wasn't able to be in Kitchener, I would make time to call Jack and chat with him. I won't be able to do that anymore, but now during the minute of silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month I will remember my friend and mentor Jack Krupp.

You will be missed Jack.