The Road to Remembering the Airmen Lost in the Dakota Plane Crash at Estevan, Saskatchewan, September 1946

Story by Marie Donais Calder
October 2026
On 15 September 1946, a Dakota plane crash at Estevan, Saskatchewan ended the lives of 21 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) airmen (20 pilots and one groundcrew member of the 124 Ferry Squadron). Eighty years later, efforts to commemorate the airmen’s sacrifice and to capture their story on paper are finally bringing closure to family members. Teacher-turned-author Marie Calder shares how she got involved in researching, writing about, and commemorating these lost airmen.
 
First Exposure to Military History
Striving to bring honour and recognition to all who have, and who continue to serve, is my goal: this has been a life long ambition of mine. It probably began when I was just a little child. My dad had served in the Second World War, as well as in the Allied Occupation force in Germany after the war. He was with the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME). He would sit me on his knee while in the rocking chair and would sing to me often. Then he would bring out his little photo album that contained photographs from his military experiences. He especially educated me on his relationship with a little German boy during his service in Allied Occupied Germany. It was during this time the seeds were sown for me to capture stories and write history books about military experiences.
Marie Calder (credit: Marie Calder)
Writing was always a passion of mine. However, stories told by my dad were only given a voice after my teaching career came to an end due to my vision loss. This was an extremely difficult time for me. But one needs to make lemonade out of lemons, so I turned my full attention to writing about my dad’s experiences. When I began, I thought I was writing one book; in the end, a 25-book series emerged called The Other Side.
The Other Side of Reunion (credit: Marie Calder)
The Estevan Soldiers Tree Commemoration Project
In 2016, Lester Hinzman, whom I met briefly at my writer’s group meetings, approached me with an idea. He wanted to hire a chainsaw carver to create a monument. He had two soldiers in mind – one soldier would be pulling the other one away from danger. He said he had permission to use a 101-year-old cottonwood tree that was dead, and he wanted to finally proceed. “You have shown me your passion of writing about our soldiers, so you will be part of this,” he stated. A few days later, he followed up with a phone call, asking, “Where do we start?” The project blossomed into Estevan’s Soldiers Tree which features not two, but rather seven soldiers representing all branches of the Canadian military. It stands proudly on the grounds of our local courthouse.
Estevan Soldiers Tree (credit: South East Military Museum)
First Steps at Commemorating the 21 Airmen Lost
During the many ensuing conversations with others in the community at this time, it became disturbingly apparent to me that the tragedy in 1946 that took the lives of 21 young and courageous RCAF airmen just outside of our city was unknown to almost every person I spoke to. “This will not do,” I said to myself.
 
At this point, I was preparing to write the 25th and final book in The Other Side series about my dad’s experiences while he served. It was in this book that my dad would be returning home to Canada from Germany at the end of June 1946, back to his wife and three little boys. The Dakota plane crash happened just after my dad’s return. Therefore, I decided to include the story in this final book in the series. Each of the 21 victims were named, and I showed scenes of the mass funeral that was held in Estevan on 18 September 1946. Through the book, readers were able to witness how the tragedy affected my dad, a young Canadian soldier, who had just returned from his overseas service. Readers also witnessed the funeral procession and how the loss of life impacted the broader community. Since each of the 21 airmen were named in the book, I believed I had done my due diligence and intended to put down my pen.
 
Writing a Book Dedicated to the Fate of the 21 Airmen
But then I received a phone call. Jack Perry is the son of one of the pilots, William Albert Perry. Knowing that I had done some preliminary research about the crash and the 21 airmen, Jack immediately emailed me photos of his dad with him. There was more to the story, the airmen’s lives, and the community they left behind, and Jack wanted to see the full story told. Through his enthusiasm and passion, I realized these airmen needed their own book. Little did I know what an onerous task I was undertaking.
Photos of the 21 airmen lost in the Dakota crash. (credit Lois Wilson)
Now it was time to locate details about each airmen’s story. I was able to use Facebook find and contact the families. I also needed photos of all 21 airmen to complete the chainsaw carving and for the book. Between help from 15 Wing Moose Jaw, CBC Radio, and Global TV, we found all 21 photos. A few people came to my rescue to complete this large undertaking, most notably, Lois Wilson of Regina, Saskatchewan. It took a tremendous amount of energy to research for this book and to track down the families, but we were successful. The book Together Forever in the Clouds includes memories from each and every one of the families because I wanted this to be about the 21 young men. This was their book.
Together Forever in the Clouds (credit: Marie Calder)
Commemoration Ceremonies
In 2019, memorial event was held at the Estevan Airport which included a Missing Man Formation flyover at the close of the ceremony.  
 
The 75th anniversary of the crash was in 2021. While I was able to give a talk that year to the CAHS Regina Chapter about the crash, the 75th commemoration event occurred a year later than planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The anniversary committee originally consisted of Lois and myself. During our communications with families, we connected with Wayne Younghusband from Ottawa, who is the nephew of one of the pilots who died in the Estevan crash. He agreed to join our group. One of my neighbours, Allison Campbell, also came on board. Upon reflection, I am amazed at what this little committee of four managed to accomplish. We built a granite cairn with all 21 airmen’s faces with their name, rank, and designations lasered on a pure black background. It is magnificent! In addition to this permanent remembrance, we held a three-day commemoration weekend in July 2022.
Together Forever in the Clouds Cairn (credit: Marie Calder)
We also hired a videographer to produce a YouTube video entitled the same as the book, Together Forever in the Clouds. Four gentlemen sing a song at the end of the video for which I composed the lyrics and the music.
 
The Most Recent Commemoration, September 2026
The 80th anniversary of the tragedy was 15 September 2026. Our committee this time was composed of three people – Lois Wilson, Wayne Younghusband, and myself. We asked Craig Bird, the curator of the South East Military Museum (where the chainsaw carving monument is permanently placed) to assist us with aspects of the event.
Chainsaw carving monument (credit: Craig Bird, Discover Estevan)
We were delighted to have members of 15 Wing Moose Jaw join us for a remembrance ceremony on 13 September 2026: Lieutenant-Colonel Carl MacDonald (Deputy Wing Commander, 15 Wing), Master Warrant Officer Dave MacLeod (Section Warrant Officer), Captain Jean Doyon (Public Affairs Officer), and Reserve Army Padre Major Linda Tomlinson-Seebach.
Lieutenant-Colonel Carl MacDonald, Master Warrant Officer Dave MacLeod, Captain Jean Doyon (credit: Lois Wilson)
Reserve Army Padre Major Linda Tomlinson-Seebach (credit: Lois Wilson)
Our committee presented the Estevan Legion with three framed remembrances. The event was live streamed for those who were not able to be physically in attendance.
Framed Rememberance at Estevan Legion (credit: Lois Wilson)
Family members, Wayne Younghusband (via video from Ottawa, Ontario) and Dianne Primeau (from Grande Prairie, Alberta) were in attendance and shared their reflections. Wayne gave a summary of each of the framed remembrances as well as some fascinating stories of his uncle, Harry Cowan, to the delight of the attendees.
Diane Primeau (credit: RCAF)
RCAF Saluting Wreath at Together Forever in the Clouds Cairn (credit: RCAF)
Diane Primeau shared her thoughts on the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the loss of her uncle, Bill Weicker, and his fellow airmen. “I was blessed to be able to physically attend and represent the families of those air men who couldn’t attend this 80th remembrance. To physically see all the tributes that this small dedicated group of volunteers have made over the years on behalf of my uncle, Bill Weicker, and the other 20 airman, is truly amazing. To be able to purchase a variety of books that describe the incident from various perspectives and learn about each of these RCAF members who lost their lives is truly remarkable; many thanks to author, Marie Donais Calder and Craig Bird [the South East Military Museum] for their diligence and care and keeping the boys’ memories alive. We will remember!”

Troy LeBlanc (of the Estevan Legion) captured the memorial event of 13 September 2026 on video, including a wreath laying ceremony at the cairn.
Memorial event of 13 September 2026 (credit: Lois Wilson)
After all our efforts, the organizing committee was delighted with the results.