NORTH BAY -- The 1940s, a time of war. Hitler's Nazis were set on occupying Europe. As the battle on the ground and in the air was unfolding, the battle for control of the seas was just beginning.

When Ralph Diegel was just 17-years-old, he wanted to explore the sea.

He enlisted in Ottawa where he remembers standing in front of the recruitment officer after passing his tests to join the Royal Canadian Navy.

Diegel did his training in Thunder Bay and sailed Lake Superior before being posted along the east coast.

He was listed on the HMCS Sans Peur. The name was Latin and translates to "All was faithful."

Diegel was then moved to HMCS The Pas, named after The Pas, Manitoba.

"We were very fortunate to come home," said Diegel. "We never saw anything like they did in the British Isles."

He sailed from Halifax, to New York, to Boston. His job was to escort allied ships to the British Aisles.

It was a critical job in the war effort.

"We had to make sure that they got across safely," he said. "The enemy had a lot of submarines."

For the last 35 years, Diegel has been playing The Last Post at North Bay's Remembrance Day ceremony.

When he plays, he thinks about his many friends who were killed in battle. One of his friends that comes to mind, Johnny Glenn.

"He enlisted in the air force and nine months into the war, he was shot down and never came home," said Diegel. "I never got over that because we went to school together."

Diegel was awarded The Atlantic Star among other voluntary service medals for his service.

This year marked 75 years since the end of The Second World War.

As we inch closer to Remembrance Day, the federal government is trying to honour the last WWII veterans who served like Diegel.

Nipissing-Timiskaming Liberal MP Anthony Rota is trying to get in contact with local war veterans who served in order to present them with the Second World War Tribute commemorative pin and certificate.

"Some veterans haven't received it yet," said Rota. "This is a pin that's out there that it really does commemorate their sacrifice and their work."

Rota says any veterans who haven't received the pin, can contact his office.

As for Diegel, he wants people to stop on Remembrance Day and reflect not only on those who made the ultimate sacrifice and the men and women who serve our country today but the future of our country.

"Be thankful that you live in Canada," he said. "We have to be the luckiest people in the world to live in a nation like this."