Name: Joseph Edouard Gerard Doucet Rank: Able Seaman Service Number: V/40673 Service: HMCS Donnacona, Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Date of Birth: April 18, 1917 Place of Birth: Meteghan River, Clare, Digby County, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: June 25, 1942 Place of Enlistment: HMCS Cartier, Montreal, Quebec Address at Enlistment: 1523 Drummond Street, Montreal, Quebec Age at Enlistment: 25 Height: 5 feet, 11 ½ inches Complexion: Medium Hair Colour: Dark Eye Colour: Brown Occupation: Bottling Works Marital Status: Single at enlistment Religion: Roman Catholic Next of Kin: Marie Anne Doucet (Mother), Meteghan Station, NS (at enlistment) Date of Death: May 14, 1947 Age: 30 Cemetery: Saulnierville Roman Catholic Cemetery, Clare, Digby County, NS Commemorated on Page 595 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on December 18 Joseph Edouard Gerard Doucet was the son of Howard Doucet (1882-1961) and Marie Anne (Jedrey or Geddry) Doucet (1892-1957). of Meteghan Station; husband of Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ (Corbeil) Doucet, of Montreal, Quebec. His obituary noted he was the brother of three sisters, Prescille Marie Francoise Doucette (1914- 2003), Anysie (Doucet) Julien (1919-2011), and one other (unknown), and nine brothers, Louis Joseph Doucette (1915-1918), Gerard Doucet (1916-1946), Victor Joseph Doucet (1918-1974), James "Jim" Doucet (b. 1923), Norbert Doucet (b. 1924), Robert Doucet (1924-1989), Antoine Doucet (b. 1925), Edouard Doucet (b. 1932), and Georges Doucet (b. 1932). Joseph was working as a labelling machine operator for 3 or 4 years with the Pepsi-Cola Company prior to enlistment, residing on Drummond Street in Montreal, Quebec. He had previously worked lumberjack during the winters and farmed during the summers for 4 years. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in June of 1942 in Montreal. He had previously served with the Fusiliers de Mont Royal from Jan 9, 1940, until February 8, 1940. It was noted on enlistment that he was from a large, happy family with everyone working to keep the home going, and that he, “gets along with all the chaps.” His record indicates, “he is an easy going, pleasant chap […], quite willing and glad to do work […], a cheerful, calm, stable fellow, cooperative, and doubtless tries to do his best.” He completed basic training in July 1942, at Cartier, served as guard and manual duties at Bytown in September 1942, completed new entry training at Cornwallis in June 1943, and guard duties at Stadacona in November 1943. In the spring of 1944, he suffered from a gastric ulcer. On May 12, 1944, he was admitted to the Royal Canadian Navy Hospital Stadacona and received 6 weeks treatment for the ulcer and was discharged from there June 21, 1944. Joseph was honorably discharged from the military with demobilization on October 19, 1945, in Montreal, QC. Able Seaman Joseph Edouard Gerard Doucet died May 14, 1947, of pulmonary and intestinal tuberculosis and it was determined his death was related to military service. The inscription on his grave reads: GOD ALONE KNOWS HOW WE MISS HIM IN A HOME THAT IS A LONESOME TODAY

Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial findagrave