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PRESBYTERIAN
FALL 2024
presbyterian.ca
Connection
Canairelief Memorial Plaque Dedication
Members of the Igbo-Canadian community stand by the memorial plaque with Captain Bill F. Libbus and Captain Troy A. Libbus, sons of Load Master Gary Libbus. PHOTO CREDITS: DAVID HARVEY
The Rev. Dr. Rick Fee (left) with members of the Igbo-Canadian community at the reception.
The memorial plaque unveiled.
By Anne Saunders, former member of the Cutting Edge of Mission Committee
We live in times when we are longing for peace, for an end to conflict and suffering, and for leaders who can make this hap- pen—or for ordinary people who will take extraordinary action. On May 11, 2024, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in downtown Toronto, Ont., hosted an event that remembered and honoured a moment in Canadian history when Canadian citizens acted— when Presbyterians acted—to feed people dying of starvation on the other side of the world.
In June 1968, the Nigerian Civil war had been raging for a year. Cut off from Nigeria and the rest of the world, the Igbo people in Biafra were facing starvation, par- ticularly women and children. One hospital estimated seeing 1,000 cases of extreme malnutrition daily. Haunted by their knowledge of this suffering, some Canadian citizens felt compelled to act.
Three men accomplished the seemingly impossible: with no prior aviation experience, Presby-
terian the Rev. Ted Johnson, Jew- ish businessman Jack Grant, and Oxfam Canada’s director Henry Fletcher bought an airplane. In- deed, they started an airline: Ca- nairelief. With that bold venture they joined the Joint Church Aid airlift, flying relief food and medi- cine into land-locked Biafra. Ca- nairelief made a very significant contribution to the Biafran Airlift, which is credited with saving more than a million lives.
Canairelief aircrew risked their lives nightly, flying Super Con- stellations, often loaded to their 20 tonne capacity. They defied bombing threats, variable weath- er conditions, flying in the dark to land on an airstrip that was simply an upgraded stretch of highway designed by a Scottish missionary.
On August 3, 1969, four of those Canairelief airmen died when their plane crashed: Ray- mond Leveque, Gary Libbus, Don Merriam and Vincent Wakeling. They were between the ages of 26 and 49 years and left behind their spouses and 14 children— some as young as four or five years of age—as well as parents, siblings and friends. Despite the risks, these men had felt com- pelled to keep flying for the sake of the starving children that the world saw nightly on television.
On May 11, 2024, these men were honoured. The event began with a screening of the documen- tary by Angela Onuora, Opera- tion Lights Out: The Story of Ca- nairelief. While assisting with the
research and production of this film, the Rev. Dr. Richard Fee, for- mer mission staff to Nigeria and former General Secretary of the Life and Mission Agency, learned about the bravery of Canairelief ground and aircrews. He had op- portunity to speak with surviving family members. He learned that the families of the four airmen who had died had been given little detail about the crash or recovery of bodies. Family members had felt alone in their grief and lived for years with many questions.
As a result of these encounters, almost 55 years after the crash, Rick worked with St. Andrew’s to organize the dedication service and memorial plaque unveiling. More than 200 people attended, including children and grandchil- dren of the four Canairelief air- men, some coming from across Canada and from other countries, as well as members of the John- son, Grant and Fletcher families.
Present were also people like Hazel McGraw who, with her late husband, Ron McGraw, (both former Presbyterian mis- sionaries in Nigeria), had helped distribute food in Biafra; Walter McLean (also a former Presby- terian missionary in Nigeria), who had persistently lobbied the Canadian government during the conflict; and David MacDonald, United Church minister and for- mer member of Parliament, who had flown into Biafra in 1968 on a fact-finding mission.
The dedication service was led by the Rev. Dr. William Ingram, music director Dan Bickle and soloist Allison Angelo. The Most Reverend Colin R. Johnson, for- mer Archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, read one of the Bible passages. (The four Canadian aircrew are buried in an Anglican cemetery.)
The Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald gave the homily. “Memorials that stand only to commemorate the past are robbed of their worth and meaning if they are not also
an inspiration for the future, sum- moning us to act now in the world wherever people hunger and thirst for food and justice,” he said. “The church testifies to the trans- formative love of God when it acts decisively and feeds those who hunger for food, justice and last- ing peace in the world God loves, the world Christ died for and rose to give abundant life for.”
The memorial plaque was un- veiled by the sons of Gary Libbus. Reflections and expressions of gratitude were given by repre- sentatives of the Canairelief fami- lies and on behalf of Igbo people in Canada and in Nigeria.
The last speaker was Emeka Njoku. On the night of August 3, 1969, as a Biafran Air Force De- fence Specialist, he was at the airfield, awaiting the arrival of Canairelief CF-NAJ, ready to re- ceive the relief shipment and to gratefully greet the four airmen whom he knew personally. To him, these Canadian men were Life Savers—“Ozondu” in the Igbo language—risking their lives night after night for his people. Mr. Njoku waited, but the plane never arrived. It was soon located, crashed with no survivors. Grief- stricken, he longed to console the airmen’s families, to tell them about his last conversations with them, and about their military fu- nerals and burials. Finally, May 11 gave him that opportunity. Follow- ing the service, there were hugs exchanged, questions asked and
answered, and pictures taken, and lots of conversation during the reception, which was over- seen by Church Manager Diana Veenstra.
Has there ever been a period in human history when humankind hasn’t been longing for action to bring peace in the face of con- flict and suffering? On May 11, many of us were mindful of the relevance and timelessness of the Canairelief memorial event. While we gathered in the St. Andrew’s sanctuary, thousands of citizens, including some Presbyterians, were walking in the Gaza Cease- fire Pilgrimage.
How to watch and donate
To view Operation Lights Out: The Story of Canairelief, go to Vimeo vimeo.com/ondemand/ operationlightsoutmovie.
To obtain a print or digital copy of the Canairelief Memorial Plaque Dedication booklet (sug- gested freewill donation of $20), contact the Rev. Dr. Richard Fee at [email protected].
To donate to the costs of the Memorial Plaque, send cheques payable to St. Andrew’s Presbyte- rian Church, c/o Diana Veenstra, 75 Simcoe Street, Toronto, ON M5J 1W9, noting on the memo line “Biafran Airlift Memorial Plaque.” For e-transfer or credit card donations, call Diana Veen- stra at 416-593-5600 ext. 223. Income tax receipts will be issued in February.
ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: THE LATE DR. DENIS M. CONWAY
Captain Bill F. Libbus (left) and Captain Troy A. Libbus (right) with Emeka Njoku, Biafran Airforce veteran (centre).