10 November 2004 On November 11, Canadian Pacific Railway Honours Canadian and American Military Veterans Canadian Pacific Railway, Canada's first transcontinental railway, will pay tribute to those who served Canada and the United States to preserve freedom in both countries.   CPR employees will bring all trains across Canada and the United States to a halt at 11 a.m. local time on 11 Nov 2004, observing two minutes of silence in honour of those who have served their country in war. The silence will be followed by one long train whistle blast as a CPR salute to the nations' war veterans. There are about 250 trains moving daily on the CPR network. The railway has a fleet of about 1,600 locomotives in road and yard service.   "We owe the many freedoms we enjoy today to the brave men and women who served our countries and to those who continue to answer the call to preserve democracy," said CPR President and CEO, Rob Ritchie, "and on behalf of the 16,000 employees of Canadian Pacific Railway, I can assure their friends and families they will never be forgotten."   As part of Remembrance Day and Veterans' Day ceremonies at CPR's headquarters in Calgary, all CPR employees who fought for Canada and the United States will be honoured at a special monument outside the company's head office. Current employees enlisted in the reserve in both countries also will be recognized at the event, as well as the role CPR, as a company, has had supporting Canada and the United States during armed conflicts.   Some 33,127 Canadian Pacific employees served in the last century's two world conflicts alone. Sadly, 1,774 sacrificed their lives. A total of 27 Canadian Pacific ships were lost in the two world wars.   Ritchie noted CPR has been ready to transport troops, supplies and equipment in addition to making its shops available as part of the war effort. "Trains transported soldiers to company ships that ferried them and supplies across the oceans. As well, in World War II, CPR railway shops in Calgary and Montreal were converted into munitions factories and to build naval guns and tanks."   By V-J Day, CPR shops had turned out 1,420 Valentine tanks, 75 main engines for corvettes, frigates and landing craft; over 600 naval vessel power equipment components; 3,000 naval guns; 1,650 naval gun mounts, 2,000 anti-submarine devices; and 120 gunnery range-finding and fire-control equipment.   Other notable background includes the following: Following World War I, CPR was the foundation of the Canadian Overseas Railway Reconstruction Corps - a group of skilled railroaders and engineers who went overseas during and after World War I to rebuild Europe's railway infrastructure; When the fighting was over and the troops came home from WWI, CPR was instrumental in finding jobs for the ex-soldiers - providing more than 20,000 jobs to those who made it back from overseas fighting; Canadian Pacific Railway also provided the memorable setting for the two Quebec Conferences hosted at the Chateau Frontenac in 1943 and 1944. It was there in 1943 that Churchill and Roosevelt set the stage for the D-Day invasion; Even in modern times, CPR with its ownership of a Midwestern US railway (Soo Line) has participated in the Korean, Vietnam, and even Desert Storm overseas conflicts. Canadian Pacific Railway supplied a water tanker to the Falkland Islands war; At present, CPR participates in Canadian troop movements and field exercises, shipping army vehicles and tanks by rail to remote training grounds or in preparation for shipping overseas. Editor's Notes: Media are invited to attend ceremonies outside CPR's North American Headquarters at 401, 9th Avenue South West, Calgary - starting at 10:45 a.m.; A compilation of historical photographs and preserved b-rolls are available on a CD ROM through CPR Communications and Public Affairs. Copies also will be available at the event. Backgrounder World War I   During World War I Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway were fully involved in this world conflict. When all was over, and the Armistice was signed, 11 Nov 1918, 32 nations had fought on both sides of the conflict, mobilizing over 65 million soldiers. Eight and a half million souls died as a result. Canada's share was 60,000 and CPR's 1,116.   Canadian Pacific put the entire resources of the "world's greatest travel system" at the country's disposal. Not only were the railway's trains and tracks at the British Empire's disposal, but, also its shops, hotels, telegraphs, and, above all, its people.   Aiding the war effort meant transporting and billeting troops; building and supplying arms and munitions; arming, lending and selling ships. Fifty-two Canadian Pacific ships were pressed into service during the First World War, carrying more than a million troops and passengers and four million tons of cargo. Fourteen of the 52 CPR ships were lost. CPR's most important contribution to the war was its men and women, at home and abroad. 11,340 CPR employees went to war, and the 1,116 who died were 10 percent of the mobilized employees.   CPR also was the foundation and backbone of the Canadian Overseas Railway Reconstruction Corps - a group of skilled railroaders and engineers who went overseas during and after World War I to rebuild Europe's railway infrastructure.   And when the fighting was over and the troops came home, CPR was instrumental in finding jobs for the ex-soldiers. 7,573 CPR enlistees came back to jobs with the company. And CPR provided an additional 13,112 jobs to others who made it back from overseas fighting.   As a lasting tribute, CPR commissioned three "winged angel" statues and 23 memorial tablets to commemorate the efforts of those who fought and those who died in World War I. The statues and most of the tablets are in their original cities and, in some cases, original locations. They are a source of reflection, reverence and remembrance to all who visit them.   World War II   With the outbreak of World War II, the entire Canadian Pacific network was again at the disposal of the war effort. On land, CPR moved 307 million tons of freight and 86 million passengers; including 150,000 soldiers, nearly 130,000 army and air force re-patriots, and thousands of sailors.   At sea, 22 CPR ships went to war with 12 of them being sunk and another lost by marine accident. In the air, CPR pioneered the "Atlantic Bridge" - the transatlantic ferrying of bombers to Britain. CPR helped open Canada's strategic far north and set up pilot training schools.   CPR transformed major portions of its shops in Montreal and Calgary to build munitions, naval guns and tanks. By V-J Day CPR shops had turned out 1,420 Valentine tanks; 75 main engines for corvettes, frigates and landing craft; over 600 naval vessel power equipment components; 3,000 naval guns, 1,650 naval gun mounts; 2,000 anti-submarine devices; and 120 gunnery range-finding and fire-control equipment.   Canadian Pacific also provided the memorable setting for the two Quebec Conferences hosted at the Chateau Frontenac in 1943 and 1944. It was there in 1943 that Churchill and Roosevelt set the stage for the D-Day invasion that turned the tides of World War II. 21,787 CPR employees enlisted in WWII. 658 sacrificed their lives.   CPR with its former presence in Maine and Vermont, its long-held control and now ownership of a Midwestern US railway (Soo Line) has participated in the Korean, Vietnam, and even Desert Storm overseas conflicts.   Canadian Pacific supplied a water tanker to the Falkland Islands war.   Present   CPR continues, right up to the present, to help Canada in time of conflict. CPR participates in Canadian troop movements and field exercises, shipping army vehicles and tanks by rail to remote training grounds or in preparation for shipping overseas.   In May 2003, CPR won the Canadian Forces Liaison Council's national award as Canada's most supportive employer of primary Reserve Force personnel.   On 19 Sep 2003, CPR's 1922 "winged angel carrying off a fallen soldier" statue was unveiled and re-dedicated in Winnipeg - on the beautifully reworked grounds of the Deer Lodge Centre.   On 29 Nov 2003, CPR honoured Canada's last surviving Victoria Cross recipient by renaming a vintage passenger car after Second World War hero Ernest "Smoky" Smith.   CPR has pledged $450,000 to help preserve Canada's military heritage. CPR is donating the money as part of a four-year campaign that will see the development in Calgary of the largest tri-service military museum in the country.   Each year CPR stops every single one of its 250 trains across the North American network at 11 a.m., November 11, for two minutes of silence to pay tribute to the thousands of North Americans who have served their countries in war. The silence is followed by one long whistle blast from each train as a Remembrance Day tribute to the memory of fallen soldiers.