Military service
Burial/memorial information
His full name is Joseph Albert Adrien Bernier.
Son of Joseph Bernier and Ernestine Lavigne from Montréal, Québec. Brother of Irène, Thérèse and René.
He was killed in action on 14 September 1944 by a shell that exploded in his headquarters during a meeting to clear the southern flank of Mount Marano, Italy, during an assault on it in an attempt to take the Palazzo des Verger, north of Marano. He was temporarily buried in Coriano before being exhumed and reburied in Gradara, Italy.
Digital gallery of Private Adrien Bernier
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Cemetery
Row of markers in the tiered Gradara War Cemetery - May 2013 ... Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens -
Cemetery
Cross of Sacrifice - Gradara War Cemetery - May 2013 ... Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens -
Cemetery
View of the Cross of Sacrifice from the tiered rows of Gradara War Cemetery - May 2013 -
Grave Marker
Grave marker - Gradara War Cemetery - May 2013 ... Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 248 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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Service record(s)
Digitized personnel record available through Library and Archives Canada.
GRADARA WAR CEMETERY Italy
GRADARA WAR CEMETERY is situated in the Commune of Gradara in the Province of Pesaro, at a distance of about 1.5 kilometres from the shores of the Adriatic. To reach the GRADARA WAR CEMETERY from Highway A14 (Bologna-Taranto), exit at Cattolica, which is the nearest town and a seaside resort. The Cemetery is on the main road 5 kilometres south west of the town.
The cemetery occupies a unique position on a hillside which was terraced for agriculture, each row of graves taking up one terrace. The site for the cemetery was chosen in November 1944 and it contains the graves of casualties incurred during the advance from Ancona to Rimini (which broke the Gothic Line) and in the heavy fighting around Rimini, which was taken by the Allies on 21st September 1944.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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