Allan "Dinger" Bell will never forget Oct. 23, 1969.
On that day, Bell was working in the engine room of the Royal Canadian Navy destroyer HMCS Kootenay when it exploded more than 300 kilometres off the southwest coast of England.
"I try to get out of the engine room every day of my life. It's been 51 years and I still can't get out," Bell said at a ceremony at the Bonaventure Anchor Memorial in Halifax Friday to mark the 51st anniversary.
"Nelson Galloway haunts me. I can't forget his face."
Nine sailors were killed and 53 others were injured, however, the crew’s quick response is credited for lessening the number of lives lost.
But many aren't aware of the explosion that ripped through the Restigouche-class destroyer after a bearing on a gearbox failed, leading to an oil-fuelled blast and fire that changed the life of Bell and his crewmates.
"If you're not in the navy and you're not thinking about these sorts of things every day, it is relatively little known," Rear-Admiral Brian Santarpia said.
On Friday, Premier Stephen McNeil proclaimed Oct. 23 as HMCS Kootenay Day in Nova Scotia.
“We have a rich military tradition in our province and proudly honour the sacrifices of brave servicemen and women past and present,” McNeil said.
“This year’s recognition of the Kootenay disaster is especially meaningful with the loss of six of our military personnel in the Cyclone crash off the coast of Greece less than six months ago.”
Bell, who still speaks to his surviving crewmates every month or so, said he was grateful for the proclamation, but added it’s about more than what happened on Oct. 23, 1969.
“It’s bigger than just Kootenay. It’s the whole navy,” he said.
Santarpia agreed.
“What I would want Canadians to know is that the spirit that those sailors brought to the accident in 1969 and saving the ship and their shipmates, that’s the same spirit the navy has today,” Santarpia said.
“We stand on their shoulders.”
