Flyby honours Moose Jaw's last veteran of the Second World War
The rare event was a way to give back to a man who meant so much to the RCAF base in Moose Jaw, says officer
Allen "Al" Cameron will be remembered for many things, including his love for music, the passion he had for his job and the devotion he had for his wife Yvonne.
But the flyby that closed out his funeral in Moose Jaw, Sask., may become one of the lasting impressions of Moose Jaw's final veteran of the Second World War.
Cameron died last month at the age of 98. On Thursday, just after 2:30 p.m. CST, a pair of CT-156 Harvard II training aircraft flew east to west over a gathering of Cameron's friends and family outside the Moose Jaw Funeral Home.
The planes were from the nearby 15 Wing Moose Jaw, the centre of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aircrew training.
"I think we did a good job to to send off Mr. Al Cameron," said Chief Warrant Officer Marlene Shillingford, the officer in charge of 2 Canadian Air Division, which oversees 15 Wing Moose Jaw, after the ceremony.
"That was an opportunity for 15 Wing to to thank him for everything that he's done over the years for the wing."
Cameron was born in Saskatoon in 1925 and joined RCAF in 1941.
He moved to Moose Jaw, where he completed his basic training. Although Cameron dreamed of being a pilot, a colour deficiency in his vision kept him from achieving that goal.
But it didn't stop Cameron from answering the call of duty. He became an air frame mechanic and in 1944 was deployed to Italy and Britain, where he worked on planes during the Second World War.
Cameron's son, Brett, said his father loved his work and couldn't stay away from it.
"He tried civilian life and didn't like," Brett said. "He did it for about six months and then he had enough and went back into the military."
Cameron would eventually retire, but stayed in Moose Jaw. As he grew older, the commitment to the Royal Canadian Air Force didn't go away.
Shillingford said 15 Wing Moose Jaw made sure to integrate him into the base and invite him to events.
"Last year we invited him to pin the wings on a new grad," she said.
Brett said people at the base gave his dad something special by taking him under their wing when his family wasn't able to visit during COVID-19.
That's why the flyby meant so much to Cameron's family.
"It was exciting and, you know, it brought a tear to my eye," Brett said.
Cameron's final message for his family and friends was, "Be Happy for Me. I have had a long and wonderful life and look forward to being reunited with Yvonne, 'Twinkle.' I could ask nothing more."
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