Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Remembering Will

We've just returned from a week long trip to Alberta and B.C. with our son and our daughter and her family, including our 5 year old grandson and 6 week old granddaughter.  We remembered William at two memorial services, in the company of many other wildland firefighters, pilots, and friends.  The highlight of our memories I think will be the permanent memorial at Hinton in Alberta.

The memorial is on the grounds of the Hinton Training Centre, where all provincial forestry and forest fire fighting training is offered.  It was a beautiful fall day when we were there, and the Aspens in Alberta are all golden.

You can see the memorial through the trees better here.  Having it on the grounds of the provincial training centre both ensures that it is seen regularly, and that it is well maintained.  We were just very impressed.

There is a central memorial, along with individual plaques for anyone who has died fighting a forest fire, embedded in the stones along the side of the pathway.

The boulder is actually a huge piece of petrified wood found in Alberta.  There is a service here annually; this year it focused on William, who was the only one who lost his life fighting forest fires in the province this summer.

The illustration on the memorial is a little hard to make out, especially as it was in a mixture of sun and shade, but it features an outline of both a helicopter and a plane dropping water, as well as a face of a firefighter.

This is the plaque for our son William.  It was a very moving few moments to be there together, and wonderful to have those memories, especially on a beautiful day like this.

Sadly, the plaque for Will is not the only one.  There are now over 20, remembering firefighters who have given their lives to protect Alberta's forests and communities.  I don't believe that there are similar memorial sites in other provinces, but we will be working to encourage their establishment.

And over the next few days I'll share some pictures of the rest of our trip.  This is at Miette Hot Springs in Jasper, along Ashlar Ridge.  The weather was like this the entire trip!  Although our grandson probably doesn't really understand why we were there, we did our best to make the trip itself memorable for him!



29 comments:

  1. Beautiful weather, and such a peaceful, ideal setting for such a memorial.

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  2. So beautiful...and yet so sad...you must be very proud of your son..
    I remember Pam Gordon telling me of your tragedy when I met her in June...
    Lovely that your whole family is there...
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  3. My heart aches for you and your son Will who died far too soon, but he will not be forgotten. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing all this with me. And what incredibly perfect weather you had for this trip! Thank you also for the touching comments you have left on my blog. We may not have met face to face, but we certainly have heart to heart.

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  4. A peaceful and beautiful place to be at rest for your son . My heart goes out to you all !

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  5. You shared so much before, and sharing this with us is so special. A beautiful and heartwarming memorial place, peaceful, with trees, a walkway with pavers, and plaques. Will, a brave man, loved and admired by so many. May those memories of happy days together be with you.

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  6. I'm so sorry for your loss. There are no words.
    This is such a beautiful memorial. It is truly important to do what you love.
    A lovely time of year to visit. Jean is right, the memories are very important, not the day of his death.

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  7. It would be an emotional time to see the memorial, but it is a great tribute to William. Enjoy your trip.

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  8. What a beautiful setting and beautiful day for a memorial. The aspen and the sky remind me of the inscription on the Ernest Hemingway memorial --

    Best of all he loved the fall.
    The yellow leaves on the cottonwoods,
    Leaves floating on the trout streams
    And above the hills, high blue windless skies.
    Now he will be part of them forever.

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  9. A wonderful tribute to your son. I'm glad you were able to visit this memorial.

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  10. Quite a moving post. May you and your family continue to receive comfort in your and other's memories of your son, Will. Looking forward to your photos of Jasper. We enjoyed visiting Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC in 2008.

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  11. Seeing your son's name and his age on the memorial was sobering. His service to others where he gave his life is honored well with is this tribute. The setting is beautiful and peaceful. He helped to preserve places such as this. My thoughts are with you all.

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  12. Glad they made a fine memorial. The plaque brought tears to my eyes though.

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  13. Always such a tragedy when we lose the good guys, the ones willing to risk their lives to make us safer. It is a lovely resting place.

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  14. That's beautiful and incredibly moving. It must have been quite a day for you; I can't imagine.

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  15. That's beautiful and incredibly moving. It must have been quite a day for you; I can't imagine.

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  16. This is a beautiful memorial, and I'm happy that your son will be remembered this way as a forest-fire fighter pilot. The setting is gorgeous.

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  17. It was good that you could go as a family to honor Will, the site of the Memorial is beautiful especially in the Fall. I hope that talking with other firefighters and pilots helped to ease your pain, I hope they shared some good memories of Will with you ones that made you smile:)

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  18. What a beautiful place for the memorial, and a beautiful day for your visit. Thank you for letting us see your photographs.

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  19. What a beautiful memorial. Thank you for being so open and willing to share this personal experience with us. My heart goes out to you and your family.

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  20. A very lovely tribute. Beautiful shots of the area.

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  21. This is just beautiful. This painful journey we are traveling is so hard, but the tributes, kindnesses and support that comes in a myriad of ways does seems to help. I think of you often.

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  22. This is a beautiful memorial spot for your son and others who lost their lives fighting forest fires. I can't imagine the pain of loss that you and your family must feel.

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  23. So beautiful, yet so heartbreaking. My heart goes out to you and your family. I hope it helps ease some of your pain to know that your son died in such a noble cause.

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  24. A wonderful and moving tribute to your son.

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  25. Thank you got dropping by my blog...and then I read of the death of your son fighting the fires this summer. I'm so sorry for your loss. The memorial and the setting are beautiful, although I know that is small comfort when you have lost a child. My condolences to you and your family.

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  26. A touching tribute & a truly beautiful memorial & location. I have never experienced such a tragic loss & I can't even begin to imagine how terrible the feeling inside must be.

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  27. a touching place to give tribute to your son's life and profession.

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  28. A beautiful location for a memorial and a peaceful place to remember.

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