The First Canadian Mercy Flight
The first Canadian mercy flight is an Edmonton story. In January of 1929, Wilfred Reid “Wop” May and Vic Horner flew 600,000 units of anti-toxin to an isolated community in northern Alberta. Dr. Malcolm Bow, the Deputy Minister of Health, had received a telegram from Dr. Hamman in Fort Vermilion stating that a man in Little Red River had a bad case of diphtheria and urgently requested a plane. The Deputy Minister called the Edmonton Flying Club to find an airplane that could make the trip.