70 PINE STREET, BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO P1L 1N3 Telephone (705) 645-2231 Fax (705) 645-5319 1-800-461-4210 (705 area code) www.muskoka.on.ca MEDIA RELEASE UNVEILING OF BRONZE PLAQUES TO RECOGNIZE THE NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE CASUALTIES FROM 1940 TO 1945 IN THE LITTLE NORWAY MEMORIAL AT THE MUSKOKA AIRPORT Eivind Hoff, Norwegian Consul General and John Klinck, District of Muskoka Chair have announced that bronze plaques will be unveiled in the Little Norway Memorial on Thursday, May 31st, 2012 at 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon at the Muskoka Airport in memory of the brave pilots and aircrew of the Norwegian Air Force. Norwegian Ambassador Else Berit Eikeland along with other dignitaries from the Royal Norwegian Air Force are scheduled to attend the unveiling. The District Municipality of Muskoka officially opened the Little Norway Memorial at the Muskoka Airport on September 25, 2007. The purpose of the Memorial is to commemorate the lives and sacrifices of the airmen and women of "Little Norway" ensuring that their legacy will not be forgotten and to provide understanding and appreciation of the long-standing and continuing connections between Norway and Canada. During World War II, the Muskoka Airport, referred to as "Little Norway", was used as a training facility by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Throughout the war, hundreds of Norwegians travelled to Canada to train as pilots and aircrew before returning to the battlefields of Europe. In 1942, Norway obtained woodlands and an airfield within Muskoka to construct larger barracks and to improve upon the facilities that they had initially used on the Toronto Islands. This instructional camp opened in Gravenhurst on May 4, 1942 and over 3,000 Norwegian Air Force personnel were trained during the War. The Norwegians used locations in Muskoka for both training and recreation. For further information, please contact: Mark Stirling, Airport Manager Muskoka Airport Planning & Economic Development Department Telephone: (705) 687-2194 Email: [email protected] -30- .