A river of bobbing Stetsons riding a wave of red serge.
The wail of the bagpipes. The rattle of the drums.
The sound of almost 4,000 polished boots and shoes on asphalt, marching in unison – like rain upon glass.
The respectful, utterly complete silence of the hundreds in the crowd as they watched the hearse roll by.
Those were some of the sights and sounds on Poirier Avenue Monday as some 2,000 police, fire and military officers marched eight-abreast from the Holy Family Catholic Church to Servus Credit Union Place in honour of St. Albert RCMP Const. David Wynn, who died last week.
K-Division parade Sgt. Maj. Gene Maeda led roughly 80 pipers and drummers at the head of the procession, followed by the RCMP flag-bearers and a chestnut charger named Duchess, its saddle empty to symbolize the fallen officer. Behind them was the black hearse containing Wynn's body, escorted by an honour guard of senior officers.
Following them were the thousands of officers from Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, Airdrie, Ottawa, Toronto, the U.S. and many other places that had arrived earlier in the day on a seemingly endless convoy of buses.
Sgt. Maj. Rob Patterson of the Calgary Police was there with about 100 other members of his detachment – some of whom stood out due to the old British "bobby" style helmet of their dress uniform.
It's important at times like this to remember that Wynn gave his life for the people of St. Albert and Canada, Patterson said.
"It wasn't a loss that will easily be forgotten."
St. Albert Fire Lt. Scott Wilde said he may not have known Wynn personally, but said every firefighter knows every cop on some level, as the two forces work so closely together.
"You can see all these police officers walking by. It's crazy what they do. As firefighters or paramedics, our life is pretty easy compared to what they have to do."
Along the streets
Hundreds of residents, including a sizeable contingent from Keenooshayo School (where Wynn served as a liaison officer), formed an almost continuous line on both sides of Poirier from the church to the arena to watch the procession. Some lined up over an hour in advance.
Many residents wore red as a show of respect for the RCMP. Some had hand-coloured signs with maple leafs and messages like "thank you" and "respect" upon them.
Terri Nault was there with five of her kids to hold a large red cloth banner that they had painted with the message, "No greater love than to give one's life for another."
"That's what he did," Nault said of Wynn, when asked about it.
They may not have known Wynn or his family, but that didn't matter, Nault said.
"We're here to honour the police and all first responders."
Doug Campbell and other members of the Rotary Club of St. Albert distributed about a hundred large Canadian flags to residents along the first 400-some metres of road from the church.
"This is a tough time," he said, and the club felt that lining the road with flags would help show local officers the community's support.
The officers marched down Poirier and turned north onto Campbell Road, passing under a massive Canadian flag on loan from the Slave Lake fire detachment suspended from a crane over the intersection. The flag seemed almost spectral as it flowed in the lazy wind.
The pipes fell silent at about 12:45 p.m. as the last of the officers arrived at Servus Place, some 30 minutes after the first of them set out from the church.
