Eloise Ogden/MDN This is the front page of The Minot Daily News on Sept. 16, 1946, when the story was published about 21 Royal Canadian Air Force men who died in a crash while attempting a landing at the Estevan military airport at Estevan, Saskatchewan. The airmen will be remembered during a presentation ceremony at the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot.

Seventy-six years ago, 21 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) airmen lost their lives in a DC-3 Dakota crash near Estevan, Saskatchewan, as they were returning to Estevan from Minot.

The crash was one of the worst accidents involving the peacetime RCAF.

On Monday, May 29, Dakota Territory Air Museum will host a presentation ceremony at 11 a.m. for the memorial of the Sept. 15, 1946, RCAF DC-3 Dakota crash near Estevan. The ceremony is open to everyone.

That morning in September 1946, the RCAF pilots had been tasked with repatriating Cornell training aircraft from airfields in Canada to Fargo and Minot as part of the Lend Lease Agreement between Great Britain and the United States during World War II. From #124 (Ferry) Squadron, Rockcliffe near Ottawa, Ontario, they had been stationed temporarily at the former #38 Service Flying Training School at Estevan.

The Forever in the Clouds Memorial Committee in Estevan spent more than two years searching for family members of the airmen and planning three days of remembrance activities in July 2022. Marie Donais Calder gathered historical information and communicated with members of all 21 families and wrote “Together Forever in the Clouds,” the story of the crash and of each airman.

On July 9, 2022, families and community members gathered to honor the airmen and dedicate a memorial cairn at the crash site. Of the 21 families, 14 were represented by more than 60 people from Canada, United States, Great Britain, Crete and Mallorca.

As part of continuing events related to the crash, the Dakota Territory Air Museum and the Forever in the Clouds Memorial Committee have jointly produced a framed photo of the cairn memorial plaque to be presented to the air museum on Monday in hopes of keeping the story of these dedicated airmen alive by bringing it to a wider audience.

Calder, author of “Together Forever in the Clouds,” will attend the presentation. The video, “Together Forever in the Clouds,” has been nominated for an award at the Yorkton (Saskatchewan) Film Festival and can be seen on Facebook. Those interested can join the private Facebook group: Forever in the Clouds 75th Memorial.