He was an Alberta fighter pilot ace who shot down 13 enemy aircraft in the First World War and fought in the same battle that killed the dreaded German pilot known as the Red Baron.
Later, Wilfrid (Wop) May became a Canadian bush pilot pioneer who opened Canada’s north to aircraft and did everything from chasing criminals by air to transporting much-needed medicine to remote locations.
It’s fitting, then, that when Canadian astronaut and University of Calgary alumnus Robert Thirsk spent six months in space last year, he took along a special artifact of May’s life.
On Monday, Thirsk was at the Glenbow Museum to return May’s cap badge after its odyssey aboard the International Space Station.
"He’s a pioneer, he’s a role model for me," Thirsk said Thursday in an interview.
"It’s a privilege for me to be associated with him."
Thirsk was in space for 189 days, the longest mission a Canadian astronaut has ever completed.
He says he knows the Glenbow well and wanted something to bring with him on his mission that would represent exploration and innovation.
The cap badge, which is from the 1940s, was selected by the museum.
Six months in space is a long time, Thirsk said, and one needs a boost, both mentally and psychologically. May’s cap badge provided some inspiration, he said.
"He wanted to be known as someone who was willing to take calculated risks," Thirsk said of May, who died in 1952.
"That’s certainly what astronauts do. We try to do things in space on behalf of the socio-economic well-being of our home countries, even though there is a risk of injury or death.
"Wop May certainly exemplified that."
May’s history is thick with accomplishments. Born in Manitoba, he grew up in Alberta, and in 1918, headed overseas to fight in the First World War.
During his first combat flight, he was tailed by the famous Manfred von Richthofen. The German was eventually shot down during the battle.
After the war, May organized the first airline to fly out of Edmonton. One of his most challenging feats was flying serum to fight diphtheria in Little Red River in northern Alberta.
The temperature was -40 C and he flew in an open cockpit biplane. It was so cold that when he landed, his fingers were frozen to the aircraft controls.
"He ferried injured patients around the north, he delivered medications to people in need up north, he took part in search-and-rescue efforts up north," Thirsk said.
"All these things had never been done before from an aircraft. He was an innovator as well as an explorer."
Thirsk is due to make a presentation at the Conoco Phillips Theatre at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
The senior curator of cultural history at the museum says May was a pioneer and that his cap badge reflects the same in Thirsk’s work.
"It was a thrill and an honour to lend a symbolic object to Dr. Thirsk for his voyage into space," Lorain Lounsberry said in a statement.
rcuthbertson@theherald.canwest.com
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