An Estevan Author is commemorating the 75th year since a deadly plane crash near Estevan took the lives of 21 servicemen in the RCAF.

Marie Donais Calder has written a variety of books based on history around Saskatchewan and briefly covered the crash in one of her previous works.

She says she made the decision to cover the topic fully when she was talking with a family member of one of the victims. 

"I had actually written about the accident in my 25th book in the Otherside series and I thought I had done due diligence until one of the pilots who perished, his sone called me," said Calder, "While we were on the phone he was sending me photos of his father, and I realized that these 21 airmen needed a book of their own. It took me 5 years of research and writing and I had people from Estevan help me find all 21 families. That's actually a miracle, it's hard to believe that we actually managed to find them all decades later."

Together Forever In The Clouds isn't the only effort in Estevan to try and preserve the memory of this event - Calder also teamed up with another local to build a monument to the servicemen who lost their lives.

"This tragedy had been essentially forgotten by Canada," said Calder, "Lester Heinsman and I decided to build the monument known as forever in the clouds, and we realized as we spoke to people across the land that practically nobody even knew about the accident."

Calder says one of the most inspiring things she saw from her research was how the community of Estevan came together following the crash.

"I look forward to the community of Estevan, who came together when they had the mass funeral," said Calder, "The whole city shut down, the children were taken out of school, and they and their teachers lined the streets, as did the business people. Estevan rallied together as a community to support the family as well as the family who were in attendance. I'm so proud to say that I live in Estevan because they were phenomenal they billeted families and did everything they could to assist."

Calder is planning a celebration for July 8th & 9th in 2022, to support the families of those left behind.

This month, the RCAF will be holding an event on the 15th to commemorate 75 years since the crash.