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| Archives Week 2001 October 1st - 6th |
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Extreme Heroism
New Year's Day 1929 was bitterly cold, and a message was received from Fort
Vermilion, 400 miles north of Edmonton, that many people were severely ill with
diphtheria and one had died. Wilfred Reid "Wop" May and Vic Horner took on the
"mercy flight" to deliver the diphtheria antitoxin by airplane, even though the flying
season had closed down due to the cold temperatures. Upon the frostbitten heroes' return,
10,000 citizens greeted them at Blatchford Field, Edmonton to celebrate their feat. |
"Mercy flight from Edmonton to Fort Vermilion -
the open cockpit Avian airplane that Wop May and Vic Horner flew to Fort Vermilion from Edmonton."
January 2, 1928
[ Provincial Archives of Alberta,
Alberta Department of Health fonds,
photo number A11795 ] | 
click for larger image
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"Mercy flight from Edmonton to Fort Vermilion -
left to right: Wop May, Vic Horner, and Dr. M.R. Bow."
January 2, 1928
[ Provincial Archives of Alberta,
Alberta Department of Health fonds,
photo number A11797 ] |
click for larger image
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"Mercy flight from Edmonton to Fort Vermilion crowd at Blatchford Field, Edmonton, to greet Wop May and Vic Horner upon their return from Fort Vermilion."
January 2, 1928
[ Provincial Archives of Alberta,
Alberta Department of Health fonds,
photo number
A11803 ] |
click for larger image |
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