November 22, 2024.  This past August we visited several places along the beautiful Acadian Coastal Drive in New Brunswick, following the scenic coastline along Chaleur Bay.  One of the highlights of our trip was the chance to meet in person with Armel ‘Mel’ Lanteigne and his wife Monique.  Over the past few years, Mel has helped to find photos of soldiers from the area that are on the photo wish lists from Canadian War Cemeteries in The Netherlands, but we’d never met in person.

A veteran, Mel is involved in restoring and placing monuments in his area, and was featured in an article about the restoration of a cenotaph in Caraquet, New Brunswick.  (You can read the French language article here: Restaurer des cénotaphes, la mission spéciale d’Armel Lanteigne à Caraquet | Radio-Canada https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1908177/armel-lanteigne-renover-cenotaphe-grand-caraquet)

….The route plan…..

Over dinner at our hotel in Beresford, New Brunswick, just outside of Bathurst, Mel and Monique offered to take us on a guided tour of several of the monuments in the area that Mel was involved with.  On our guided tour we would visit memorials in Grande-Anse, Maisonette, Bertrand, Caraquet, and Bas-Caraquet.  We then would bid adieu to Mel and Monique and continue on to Tracadie to visit one final memorial before heading back to Prince Edward Island.

….Memorial 1: Grande-Anse…..

The next morning, Pieter and I drove along the Chaleur Bay to Grande-Anse, the first memorial stop on our tour, and where we would meet Mel and Monique.  We were lucky with the weather, which was beautifully warm and sunny.

Of great interest to a military researcher like Pieter was the chance to see an artillery gun and armoured personnel carrier (APC), both of which were beside the Grande-Anse Monument.

….Memorial 2: Maisonnette…..

From Grande-Anse, we travelled to Maisonnette, site of the Maisonnette Memorial.  Jean FRIGAULT, of Maisonnette, whose photo was recently submitted to Pieter by Mel, is listed on this memorial.  He was killed on March 2, 1945 while serving with Le Régiment de la Chaudière, and is buried in the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, The Netherlands.  His story will be told in an upcoming blog posting.

….Memorial 3: Bertrand…..

Our third stop was in Bertrand, where, to our surprise, we saw a familiar name listed on the monument – that of Léopold THÉRIAULT of Bertrand, whose name had been on a photo wish list from the Canadian War Cemetery in Bergen Op Zoom, The Netherlands where he is buried.  Pieter had just recently obtained a photo, otherwise the name might not have resonated when we saw it on the memorial! Léopold was killed on October 25, 1944 while serving with the Algonquin Regiment. His story will be told in an upcoming blog posting.

….Memorial 4: Caraquet…..

Our fourth stop was at the memorial in Caraquet, which lists the names of two WWII soldiers whose stories were previously told on this blog:  Gilles LANTEIGNE and Alphonse ROBERT.

The Caraquet Memorial is very dear to Mel’s heart.  When the original monument was restored several years ago, a decision was made to add a statue of a WWII soldier, depicted as seated and reading a postcard from home.  The model for the statue was Mel and Monique’s son Marc-André, and the WWII uniform used for the model had been worn by Monique’s father, William D. WARD!

To read Gilles Lanteigne’s story, see https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2021/07/11/on-the-war-memorial-trail-atlantic-canada-remembers-part-10/

To read Alphonse Robert’s story, see:

• https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2021/10/12/on-the-war-memorial-trail-an-update-on-the-story-of-ww2-soldier-alphonse-robert/
• https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2021/04/15/on-the-war-memorial-trail-atlantic-canada-remembers-part-9/

….Memorial 5: Bas-Caraquet…..

Our last stop on our tour with Mel and Monique was the village of Bas-Caraquet. WWII soldier Armand GIONET, whose photo was submitted to Pieter by Mel, is listed on the Bas-Caraquet Memorial. 

After Armand’s story was published, we heard from Jan Braakman, a Dutch journalist, who wrote to let us know that “….Armand Gionet died in my town of birth (Laren, province of Gelderland) at the same place, same time and same way as my grandmother, Dina Koeslag.….” Both lost their lives after the building they were in was hit by a German bazooka and started on fire.

To read Armand’s story, see https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2021/07/11/on-the-war-memorial-trail-atlantic-canada-remembers-part-10/

….Memorial 6: Tracadie…..

When we visited the five memorials with Mel and Monique it was warm and sunny.  The following day, however, it rained when we visited the Tracadie Cenotaph in Tracadie.   

WWII soldier Alderic BASQUE, of Tracadie, whose photo was found several years ago with the help of Marc Comeau, is listed on this Cenotaph. To read Alderic’s story, see https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2020/12/31/on-the-war-memorial-trail-a-face-for-ww2-soldier-alderic-basque/

Also listed on this Cenotaph is WWII soldier Cyrille CAISSIE, whose photo was obtained by Pieter last year.  Born in Four Roads, New Brunswick, Cyril was the son of John and Delima Caissie.  He lost his life on February 26, 1945 at the age of 25, while serving with Le Régiment de la Chaudière, and is buried in the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, The Netherlands.

WWII soldier Sylvestre THOMAS, whose name is also on this Cenotaph, is on the photo wish list that Pieter is still searching for. The son of Xavier and Sara (nee Hebert) Thomas, of Upper Tilley Rd, Gloucester County., New Brunswick, Sylvestre lost his life on October 25, 1944 at the age of 24, while serving with the Algonquin Regiment.  He’s buried in the Canadian War Cemetery in Bergen Op Zoom.

We found visiting these memorials very moving.  Pieter summed up the experience, saying that “…after researching and telling the stories of these men, it was an honour to visit the places where they came from, and to know that they are not forgotten…”

Thank you to Mel and Monique Lanteigne for showing us monuments in their area in which Acadian soldiers we’ve featured on this blog are listed. May we never forget all those who served, and continue to serve!

If you have a story to tell, or can help with the search for a photo of Sylvestre Thomas, please let Pieter know. You can email him at memorialtrail@gmail.com, or comment on the blog.  

© Daria Valkenburg

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4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

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