Remember #81 - Not Mystery Cache

NOTE: CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES!

The cache is on private land with permission of the owners.

To find this cache you can either work out this puzzle based on the 8 “Remember” series of caches by pulling information from each of them and filling out the following:

OR if you can figure out the “tie that binds” these caches together you can do the fast forward below:

PS this is NOT #81’s name.

In order not to make it too easy the name of the pilot this cache has been dedicated to has been renamed #81 in the true account of his life.

The story of a Canadian Hero  #81

World War I

After growing up in Edmonton, #81 joined the Army in February 1916 during World War I. He rose through the enlisted ranks to Sergeant, and spent most of 1916 as a gunnery instructor. In 1917 his battalion was shipped to England, where he and his friend Ray Ross applied to join the Royal Flying Corps. His first flight resulted in the destruction of both his own and another aircraft, but nevertheless the RFC accepted his applications and #81 resigned from the Canadian Army. After initial training in London in October, he was moved to a fighter training squadron and graduated in February 1918.

On April 9th #81 was transferred to 209 Squadron of what had just become the Royal Air Force, 209 formerly being a unit of the Royal Naval Air Service until April 1st when the RAF was created. The 209th was commanded by another Canadian, former school friend #81 Saviour, who held an enviable record as a commander, having never lost a pilot under his command. #81 spent most of April getting used to his Sopwith Camel, but on the 20th was in combat with a German Fokker Triplane who crashed of his own accord during their brief fight.

The next day the 209th was again on patrol with similar instructions as before -- #81 was to stay out of the fights and simply keep an eye out. Around 10 am the squadron encountered a group of Triplanes and attacked them, while #81 flew above the flight and circled. He spotted another plane doing the same thing and decided to attack, chasing this aircraft right into the middle of the fight. His guns soon jammed and he dove out of combat. Watching a German Pilot chasing #81, #81 Saviour decided to give chase as well, and shot the plane down.   #81 continued flying with 209 Squadron until the end of the war, and eventually claimed 13 aircraft and 4 probables. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1918.

Post War Career

After returning to Edmonton at the end of the war, #81 and his brother rented a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny and started #81 Airplanes Ltd., opening the first "air harbour" (or aeroport) in Canada just north of town. They appeared at various functions during 1919, and would now be considered to be one of the first barnstorming companies in the world. In September #81 Aeroplanes was hired by the RCMP during their manhunt for John Larsen, wanted on two counts of murder and a break-in. #81 flew Detective James Campbell to the small town of Edson, and Larsen was caught soon thereafter{Constable Nixon had been killed by Larson}. They were soon joined by George Gorman to become #81-Gorman Airplanes Ltd. and took delivery of another Jenny (built by Standard Aircraft though) in which George delivered the Edmonton Journal newspaper to Wetaskiwin, 45 miles south of Edmonton.

In 1924 the business failed, and #81 married Violet "Vi" Bode in November. He decided to get a "real" job, joining National Cash Register in Dayton, Ohio where he went for training. While working on a lathe he was hit in the eye by a shard of steel, and from then until 1938 he was slowly going blind. Convinced that flying really was his calling, he formed the Edmonton and North Alberta Flying Club in 1927, and became a flight instructor.

In December 1928 Bert Logan, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company was posted to Little Red River, Alberta. On arrival he was unpacking when he suddenly got very ill. His wife, a nurse, realized he had diphtheria, and a desperate effort started to get vaccine to the town before anyone else was seriously infected. Simply getting the word out that help was needed was an adventure in its own. At the time there were no roads in the north, and the nearest telegraph station was miles away over a frozen landscape. The message eventually reached Edmonton, and on January 1st #81 was asked if he could deliver the medicine. He left with another flying club member, Vic Horner, the next day around noon, and landed on a lake for the night just before 4 pm when it was becoming dark. They refueled on the Peace River and continued their flight, arriving in Fort Vermilion at 3 pm. A group had just arrived from Little Red River and the drugs were quickly distributed. They had to stop in Peace River on the return flight due to engine damage from the low quality fuels, and didn't arrive back in Edmonton until the 7th. By this point his flight had become known across Canada as "the race against death", and they arrived to find a media circus waiting for them in town.

The news of this remarkable flight helped #81 establish a new company, Commercial Airways, to provide air service to Northern Canada. The Company won a government contract for air mail to the Northwest Territories. A service that had been pioneered by Punch Dickins rival Western Canada Airways.  Both companies would eventually become part of Canadian Pacific Air Lines.

In early 1932 #81 was involved in another manhunt, this time for Albert Johnson, soon known as the Mad Trapper. While serving a search warrant for illegal trapping on the Rat River, Constable King of the RCMP was shot by Johnson, sparking off a long chase that became front-page news across the continent. #81 was again hired to see if he could find Johnson, who had seemingly disappeared. On February 13th #81 solved the mystery when he noted a set of footprints leading off from caribou tracks in the middle of the frozen river. Johnson had been following their tracks to hide his own, but had to strike off the path to set up camp at night. Following the trail over the next few days the RCMP rounded a bend on the river on the 17th to find Johnson in the middle of the trail again, unable to dodge for the bank without his snowshoes on. A firefight broke out during which one of the RCMP officers was seriously wounded and Johnson killed. #81 arrived just after the action ended, and landed beside the injured officer and flew him 125 miles to a doctor, being credited with saving his life. During the manhunt  RCMP Constable Millen was killed

World War II

With the start of World War II, it was decided that Canada would become the major place of training for pilots in the RAF joining from countries in the British Commonwealth. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan set up airbases across Canada, and #81 became the commander of the No.2 Air Observer School in Edmonton, as well as supervisor of all the western schools.

While this was going on the United States was also ferrying huge numbers of aircraft to the Soviet Union, flying through Edmonton on their way. A number of these crashed due to mechanical problems, in which case there was no way for an injured pilot to get out of the "back country" when this happened. The idea came up that a team of parachute jumpers should be formed that could be dropped in on the crash sites to stabilize the injuries and start moving the pilots out of the bush. Early efforts were comical but dangerous, but the US trained a number of jumpers at a smokejumper school in Montana, and it was not long before the Para-Rescue team was in service. Several additional Para-Rescue teams were set up during the war, and by the time the war ended the value of these teams was recognized. They were soon re-organized into their own command within the Canadian military, Search and Rescue. For his work in Search and Rescue, #81 was awarded the Medal of Freedom, with Bronze Palm in 1947 by the USAAF.

Legacy

#81 was on vacation with his son Denny on June 21, 1952 when he suffered a serious stroke and died while hiking to Timpanogos Cave near American Fork, Utah.

In addition to the DFC and the United States Medal of Freedom, #81 was awarded the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy in 1929 and became an Officer in the Order of the British Empire in 1935.

#81 is immortalized in songs by Stompin' Tom Connors ("#81"), The Gumboots ("#81"), and John Spearn ("#81 Saviour and #81").

On October 6, 2004, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity located a rock on the south slope of the Endurance Crater on Mars. The 1 metre (3.3 foot) rock was given the name #81 after the legendary Canadian bush pilot .