From 1950 to 1970 the Saskatchewan Government undertook the process of naming geo-memorial locations in the northern area of the province, identifying locations with the names of approximately 3,800 fallen WW2 servicemen. Their names live on Bush pilot takes photos lest we forget by Geoff Howe During the Second World War, more than 91,000 men and women from Saskatchewan offered their service to Canada to secure our vision of freedom and democracy. Of the brave souls who dedicated their efforts to this mission, 3,800 did not survive, leaving a deep hole of sorrow with their Saskatchewan family and friends. As time moved on, the memory of these souls faded into history. Some families abandoned their recollection due to pain, others lost the stories as generations passed by and, for some, time has frozen, grasping the moment like an antique locket laden with meaningful snapshots of time. For all these people, there is a way to commemorate their lost relatives with dignity and respect while obtaining a meaningful tribute for their loved ones. Doug Chisholm, an aircraft mechanic from La Ronge, has ingeniously devised a way of providing those families wit ha lasting memento of Saskatchewan servicemen. From 1950 to 1970 the Saskatchewan Government undertook the process of naming geo-memorial locations in the northern area of the province, identifying locations with the names of approximately 3800 fallen servicemen. These locations consist of various lakes, islands and bays spread throughout the region. According the Chisholm, the government tried to notify families of the process, but by that time the relatives had often moved on and were not aware that the province had done this. Chisholm, and avid bush pilot and aerial photographer, received a phone call one day from a friend who asked him if he would take a picture of an island on Lac La Ronge that had been named after a young airman from Saskatoon. "He wanted to get the picture of the island for his friends sister," said Chisholm. "So I found the island with my maps, circled and took the pictures. After that I landed and got some sand and rocks from the shoreline and sent it down. Ironically, she got it just before she passed away. It was really special for her. After the undertaking, Chisholm started to think more about it. He thought about who this fellow was and what happened to him. He felt that in the past he had known a lot about the Second World War, but this incident made him realize that there was still a lot to learn. Three and a half years later, Chisholm completed a mammoth project. He has photographed 2,700 of the 3,800 geo-memorial locations, and devised a method of presenting the photographs to interested relatives and friends of the commemorated servicemen. Through a database system of his collected photographs and a list of the men, their rank, hometown, and circumstances related to their casualty, Chisholm can create a befitting visual tribute to the men. The tribute, available for a fee of $100 which covers fuel and other expenses, is a wonderful symbol to keep the memory of these men alive, said Chisholm. "The naming of the lakes and islands was a fine tribute by our province in memory of Saskatchewan servicemen who made the supreme sacrifice for our country." - Doug Chisholm "A lot of people are moved by the tributes and the recollections they bring,'' he said. "I think people appreciate the fact that they're able to see a photograph of the geo-memorial location, and then see it on the map and pull out the information in this format. Subsequently, when they pass it down, sisters and brothers will get it and they'll give it to their children, and the information is recorded and not lost. Chisholm has now sold around 400 of these tributes. At the beginning, it was a rocky road for the business, but through word of mouth, his unique service has found many happy Saskatchewan families and friends, eager to put closure on the incident last century. "When I first started, I tried to contact families", said Chisholm. "I would try to figure out where the families were from, and I'd make a phone call or write a letter. But I got to feel like a vacuum cleaner salesman. A lot of the people didn't know what to think. But as time went by and I did tributes for different families. word of mouth was it. Someone would tell someone else who they knew lost a brother in the Second World War about what I was doing, and then the phone would ring. That's how it unraveled." Chisholm performs this service because he feels it is interesting and worthwhile. He has no grants, and it is funded entirely through his banker and the selling of the tributes. Woodland Aerial Photography & Doug Chisholm, author of Their Names Live On, provide Aerial Photos, Geographic Memorial Tributes & Plaques for our fallen military service personnel, and community profiles.
Tim - B.C. has a similar dedication to the ww2 Vets and many mountains have been re-named to honour those men who fell - one mountain on the road from Calgary / Banff - Highway 1A which follows the Bow river reverted to it's orginal name last time I went by there - it had been re-named Eisenhower just after the war- don't ask as I didn't bother to find out ...but then - he wasn't Canadian... Cheers
Tom, I know the practice of naming lakes is also done in Manitoba and continues today. Some of our fallen in Afghanistan had lakes named in their honour last year. Given that Canada has over 32,000 lakes (larger than three square kilometres) and over 3 million in total, it should be done in all provinces.
