Military paratroopers celebrate 'brotherhood' at Edmonton reunion
More than 500 people attended a paratroopers reunion this weekend at the Airborne Social Club of Edmonton.
Every five years, parachuters from all across the country gather to commemorate 81 years of Canadian military operational parachuting with this year’s theme being “Paratrooper’s Reunion – Edmonton the Airborne Story.”
Retired Col. Bill Fletcher, co-chair of the reunion committee, tells CTV News that the first parachute descent occurred in 1945 by the Canadian Air Force search and rescue group.
Parachuters also worked with the 2nd Battalion and the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry of Griesbach Barracks, which became the home of the Airborne Regiment in 1968.
“We are commemorating all parachuters, all military parachuters this year in our reunion and have opened it up in that respect,” said Col. Fletcher.
“The Airborne family is a brotherhood. It’s a close-knit brotherhood and once you’re accepted into the family, it remains. That link remains, that relationship remains,” he added. “Every five years [the reunion] allows us to renew acquaintances with many of those that we serve with and others that have come before or even after us."
The Canadian Airborne Cairn will hold a memorial service in Perron Berger Park in Griesbach on Sunday at 11 a.m. and unveil a monument in honour of the Canadian soldiers and Airborne soldiers who have passed away.
For more information about the Airborne Social Club of Edmonton, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.