The public is invited to pay their respects at the annual afternoon Remembrance Day service held under the wings of the Harvard aircraft on display in front of the Red Deer Regional Airport.
Hosted by Harvard Historical Aviation Society and Red Deer Regional Airport, the short outdoor ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 11, followed by coffee and fellowship inside the airport terminal.
Second World War pilots from different countries trained with the Royal Air Force at Penhold Base at Springbrook.
Jodi Smith, president and co-founder of the aviation society, said Central Albertans have Second World War history "right in our backyard."
She said a short history of the local wartime training is recounted during the ceremony to salute those who died during training at the Penhold and Bowden bases.
People are always surprised by how young those pilots were. Most of them were between 19 and 23, she added.
"There were a number of lives lost during the World War II training, and lives lost as well during the '50s and '60s during the NATO training that happened at Penhold," Smith said.
A monument to those men was installed near the Harvard which was the actually the last commissioned Harvard to fly anywhere in Canada.
Smith said the annual ceremony has been held for years, and the number of people who attend has grown from about 12 to 80. About six wreaths are typically laid, and any organization is welcome to participate.
Those who attend should be dressed for the weather.
"Even if it's super cold, we still go out. We figure the guys that fought went through a lot more."
