On September 15th, 1946, 21 servicemen lost their lives during a routine flight from Minot, North Dakota to Estevan.

The event, despite being one of Canada's largest aviation disasters, isn't well known outside the community of Estevan.

But the people here have dedicated their time to remember the tragedy and all those who lost their lives in the crash.

This includes Lester Hinzman, who regularly commissions art pieces dedicated to soldiers and veterans, and author Marie Donais Calder, who researched the crash to provide some idea of what happened.

James Lees is the Nephew of one Flight Lieutenant James Stewart Lees, one of the pilots who perished in the crash.

He says the town has done a great job of remembering the fallen.

"My uncle was one of the pilots who died in the crash. He'd been a Lancaster pilot during the war and came back to ferry fighter planes back to the U.S.," said Lees, "This was a return trip for the pilots doing it and it crashed."

"I never knew my uncle, but I am pretty good friends with my cousin who's his son. I only knew that it happened and everybody moved on, I guess. I was too young to really get the impact of it because my grandparents died before I really knew them."

Lees says that all of the efforts that have gone into remembering the fallen is very appreciated.

"I think it's a great idea.  I'm all in favour of remembering these things and I did teach history in high school," said Lees, "I think this is a really good thing to remember."

Lees was especially impressed by the "Forever in the Clouds" monument, which is a part of Lester's collection.

"I'm really impressed that somebody took the initiative and the huge amount of labour to do this and they aren't even relatives," said Lees, "I guess the relatives have all moved on and a few people here remembered and took a lot of effort to remember. It's good."

Lees says that overall he's got a positive impression of Estevan.