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
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.