Two planes from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will perform a flyby this afternoon to honour Moose Jaw’s last living Second World War veteran.
At 2 p.m., two CT-156 Harvard II training aircraft from 15 Wing Air Base will fly over The Friendly City to honour the late Allen (Al) Cameron, who died Aug. 29 at the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Hospital at age 98 after a fall.
The flypast will happen after the veteran’s funeral, which starts at 1 p.m. at Moose Jaw Funeral Home on Mulberry Lane. The aircraft will fly over the building at an altitude no lower than 500 feet above the highest obstacle on their route.
“15 Wing is humbled to honour the memory of Al Cameron, a local and Saskatchewan hero who served in the RCAF during the Second World War as an airplane mechanic. 15 Wing Commander, Colonel Dan Coutts, and Wing Chief Warrant Officer Rachel Fox will attend the funeral,” the military said in a news release.
Flybys by RCAF aircraft are carefully planned and closely controlled for public safety and are dependent upon weather and flying conditions, the military continued.
“We are deeply sorry to hear of the passing of Mr. Al Cameron. He was an integral part of the 15 Wing family,” said Coutts. “Over the last several years, he attended many of our graduation ceremonies and was a living connection to the long and storied history of this base.
“I personally had the chance to greet him when I became wing commander in July during my change of command (ceremony) and am richer for even that brief meeting, having heard some of his stories about service in Moose Jaw,” he continued.
Coutts added that Fox visited Cameron in hospital a few days before he died.
Cameron was born on May 18, 1925, in Saskatoon. He joined the RCAF in 1941 and moved to Moose Jaw, where he performed his basic training. He dreamed of being a pilot, but eyesight problems kept him from reaching that dream.
The veteran became an airframe mechanic, and on June 24, 1944, he travelled overseas to work on planes. His service took him to Italy, where he worked with the 417 Spitfire Squadron.
Cameron eventually retired from the military but stayed in Moose Jaw.
Throughout his life, Cameron enjoyed singing. This past season, he sang the national anthem at a Moose Jaw Warriors’ hockey game at age 98.
