Pinetree Line Home Page

Ren L'Ecuyer May 21, 1940 - July 23, 2005 R.C.A.F. 1957-1979 Webmaster - Historian www.pinetreeline.org www.grostenquin.org www.marville.org www.rcaf-atc.org This website is dedicated to my late husband, Ren L'Ecuyer. Ren developed each website with passion and fervor - truly a labour of love for him. Many times during our conversations over the years, Ren had asked if, on his passing, I would keep the websites going for an indefinite period of time - perhaps with the thought that eventually someone might like to take up where he left off. I've endeavored to honour that request and will continue to do so as long as I am able. I can see that silly grin of his as I try to fill his shoes! Please bear with us as we are undergoing some website 'construction' issues behind the scenes which will make it easier for me to manage all four websites. In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep the sites as up to date as I can. Lastly, I'd like to thank all of you for your continued support. Sincerely, Margaret L'Ecuyer, Webmaster Memorials On Sunday, June 04, 2006, a Heritage Stone was laid at the Comox Air Force Museum Heritage Air Park in Comox, B.C. in Ren's honour. Photos will be posted at a later date. On the morning of Saturday, September 30, 2006, at the Trenton R.C.A.F. Museum in Trenton, Ontario, a memorial bench was dedicated in honour of Ren's work as web master and historian. Refreshments followed at the Fireside Room on the base. Later in the afternoon, Ren's Ad Astra stone was one of those dedicated at the annual ceremony. Photos will be posted at a later date.

The Background and Political Climate

• Background

  This section introduces the philosophy of why this Web site was created and to whom it is dedicated.

• In The Beginning

  The beginning of the Pinetree Line.

• Slide Show

  This series of slides is reproduced from an official presentation from the Cold War era. It clearly shows the overwhelming concern about nuclear attack and stresses the kind of political and military climate that the thousands of personnel lived with while serving on the Pinetree Line.

• Reports

  This section offers an assortment of monthly progress reports which originated within the Pinetree Project Office covering the Pinetree Line during the years 1952-55. We have also obtained a small number of Canadian External Relations reports which pertain to the Pinetree Line or Contintental Defence during the years 1952-55.

The Physical Locations:

• Radar Stations Map

  This map shows the location of the 44 Pinetree Line radar sites on a map of Canada. Click on the map for a larger and more detailed view.

• Air Defense Boundaries

  This series of maps shows the locations of the various Regional Operational Control Centres, NORAD boundaries and radar coverage by the various sites and spans the years 1955 through 1975.

• Pinetree Locations

  This is the index page for the 44 sites on the Pinetree Line. Beside each name is the date of the last update of information for that site. Clicking on the name of a station takes you to an "index card" with statistical data and links to photos, area maps, crests and travel detail specific to that station. Not all the detail is complete. If you have information that can fill in the gaps please consider contributing to this site.

• Gap Fillers

  Besides the main stations on the Pinetree Line there were a series of "Gap Fillers" planned and built to cover the gaps in radar coverage. Information on these sites are similar to that for the main locations.

• Metz, France

  Metz France was the location of 61 AC&W; Squadron. There were also a number of other lodger units located at Metz such as 1 Air Division HQ, Support Unit (SU) Metz and 601 Telecom Squadron to name a few. We also offer detail on the RCAF Cemetery which was located at Choloy.

Miscellaneous

• Miscellaneous

  This page is the gathering place for all items that don't fit in anywhere else on this site.

Making Contact

• Guestbook

  If this is your first time visiting this site or if you haven't yet done so please leave your comments on our Guestbook. Include your e-mail address so that others may contact you. You will find older entries archived by month.

• Message Areas

  This is the place to contact those that you served with and to initiate an exchange of memories, information and "what-ever-happened-to" exchanges with others that served on the Pinetree Line. There is a General message area and one devoted to each of the primary locations.

• Pinetree Line Database

  Have you ever wondered where all the people you served with on the Pinetree Line have gone to? This is a "living" register of those that served on the Pinetree Line. You can search for someone by last name, by location or view the entire database. We encourage you to enter your own career details that pertain to the Pinetree Line.

• Update your E-Mail address

  Have you changed your E-Mail address lately? If so, please advise us of your current E-Mail address so that we can maintain an accurate database on the web site. NOTE - This feature is intended for those who have their career detail in our database. If you are not listed in our database, please select the database option and provide the detail as requested.

Other Pinetree Line Pages

• Other Resources

  This page includes Web sites, articles, books and videos that are related to the Pinetree Line. If you are looking for more information this is a great starting point.

Reunions

• Reunions

  This section provides detail on a number of pertinent reunions. There are photographs, station crests and other detail that you are sure to find interesting

Assistance & Legal Issues

• Help Wanted

  We need your help! Please read this section to learn how you can help us out.

• Legal & Copywright Issues

  This section deals with the resuse of detail or photos on our web site.