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Monument has its permanent home
Cutline: The Forever in the Clouds Monument is going to be located permanently at the Estevan Regional Airport.
The Forever in the Clouds Monument has found its permanent home.
The monument, which pays tribute to the 20 airmen and one groundscrewman who died in an airplane crash at the former Estevan Airport site south of the city on Sept. 15, 1946, will be located at the Estevan Regional Airport.
Forever in the Clouds had been located on the property of Lester Hinzman, who is on the committee responsible for this monument. The monument was moved to Bert Baxter Transport on Sept. 6, and then transported to the airport a week later, with an escort by the Estevan RCMP and the Estevan Police Service.
Hinzman said they selected the airport as the home because airports were a big part of the airmen’s lives.
“This is their home,” said Hinzman. “They didn’t look out at greenfields, they looked out at runways. This is their home, and it looks so peaceful here, and they’re going to be looked after. And they’re all together, and they’re all home.”
Estevan city council and the Estevan Regional Airport have given their blessing for the monument to be at the airport.
“Down at my place is where they died. They only died two miles away (from my home),” said Hinzman. “But here is how they lived. This is how they’d be spending their lives. If they were still alive, they’d still be hanging out at airports.”
The process in creating the monument and finding its permanent home has been “an amazing adventure,” and Hinzman is pleased to have been a part of it.
He noted some people had suggested that the monument should be at the Royal Canadian Air Force base at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, but the airmen at 15 Wing stressed it should be in Estevan.
The faces of each of the victims of the plane crash were carved by chainsaw sculptor Darren Jones of Rimbey, Alta. There is one additional face to pay tribute to all airmen who have perished in combat, a concept similar to that of the Unknown Soldier.
Committee members initially wanted the monument to be located on the east lawn of the Estevan Court House, at the opposite end of the property from the Soldiers’ Tree monument. But the Ministry of Central Services denied the request in the winter of 2018, and the monument has been splitting its time between the airport and Hinzman’s property since then.
The monument can be easily transported, so it can go to events, such as the Saskatchewan Air Show in Moose Jaw this past July. Tens of thousands of people saw the monument, and learned more about the plane crash and the men who died.
Hinzman believes Forever in the Clouds will get the visibility it deserves, even if it is outside the city.
“People are coming in here from all over the place, and there’s a lot of support, among the general population … for our military,” said Hinzman.
Anyone who wishes to view the monument can drop by the airport during regular operation hours, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
