Eighty years ago this week, veteran bush pilot “Wop” May and his partner Victor Horner flew into the annals of history. On January 2, 1929, they embarked on a courageous flight in an Avro “Avian” open cockpit biplane through a minus 34-degree blizzard to deliver vaccine to Fort Vermilion and Little Red River, two northern Alberta communities threatened by a diphtheria epidemic.

The Edmonton Journal, in its January 3, 1929 edition, called May and Horner "two Knights of the Air, throwing their lives in a desperate hazard with death, riding a slender and fragile thing of wood and silk and steel." It helps all these years later to understand the emotional impact of the event.

The flight began with a New Year’s call for help to May from deputy health minister Dr. Malcolm Bow, who had received a telegram advising of the outbreak. May knew his biplane, on wheels, wasn’t exactly ideal for flying into the north in mid-winter, but saying “no” just wasn’t in his character. He told the minister that he and Horner would leave the next day.

May was one of Canada’s most famous airmen at the time, and his series of firsts made him legendary. He had been chased by Manfred von Richtofen, the Red Baron, and lived to tell about it. He had established the municipal airport, the first city-owned airport in the country.

He also founded the Edmonton Flying Club, the largest flying school in the country. His story is full of adventure; a great tale of a life lived on the edge in service of his country, in service of others.

Wilfrid Reid May was born in Carberry, Manitoba in 1896 and came to Edmonton in 1902. His nickname Wop was coined when a young cousin couldn't pronounce Wilfrid and May's brother Court made the mispronunciation stick. In 1916, May enlisted in the 202nd Battalion and joined the Royal Air Force. The story behind his encounter with the German flying ace the Red Baron is one of the great tales of air-to-air combat from World War I. On his very first flight out one morning in 1918, his machine gun jammed and he was ambushed by Baron Von Richtofen.

"I wore the skin off the back of my neck twisting my head to see where he was," said May, describing his 15-mile dash across No Man's Land. May led him across Allied lines, where the Red Baron was shot down and killed.

For his service in the Corps, May was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1918. After the war, he returned to Edmonton and he and brother Court and George Gorman started May Airplanes Limited.

On the morning of January 2nd, 1929, May and Horner were ready to go. It was minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind, low ceiling and ice fog. The pair, dressed in heavy coats, pants and felt boots, took delivery of the serum from Dr. Bow and Edmonton Mayor Ambrose Bury.

There was enough diphtheria antitoxin and toxoid to treat 200 cases, but it needed to be kept from freezing. So they wrapped the serum in wool blankets warmed by a charcoal heater. Just after noon, they lifted off, heading north on their 960 kilometre journey.

Due to snow and strong headwinds, they flew at an altitude of about 500 feet and followed the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia railway tracks north to Smith. In a 1979 interview with Journal, Vic Horner's son Bob said the heater caught fire and they were forced to land and put it out with snow.

"Of course, they had to do something to keep the antitoxin warm," Bob explained. "They put the vials under their armpits and next to their groins for the rest of the trip."

The fliers spent the night at McLennan, on the shore of Kimiwan Lake. The next morning, they flew to Peace River, landed on the river, and refueled. Then they headed north to Fort Vermilion, and landed about 3 pm on a strip on the ice-bound Peace River cleared by residents.

The serum was loaded on a sleigh that raced to Little Red River that night, and the citizens of Fort Vermilion were also inoculated. A potential outbreak was quelled, and a much more tragic ending averted.

May and Horner left the next morning but the return was beset by engine troubles brought on by the automobile gasoline they had used to refill the fuel tank. In Peace River, major repairs to the engine were needed, delaying the flight home by two days.

They left Peace River the morning of January 6th, flying through heavy snow and minus 33 degree weather. With newspaper headlines that included “Race Against Death” and “What Price Human Life?” Edmontonians were stoked for their return.

When the telegraph from Peace River arrived saying they were on their way home, word spread quickly and a crowd of 10,000 people hurried to Blatchford Field to greet the returning heroes. The crowd rushed the plane and, worried that somebody would be hurt by the propeller, May taxied to the end of the field.

The bitter cold had taken a toll on the fliers, and they were suffering from frostbite and exhaustion. May covered his face with a silk scarf. But when he pulled the scarf off, the skin came off his lips.

At a civic reception, the two heroes were presented with engraved watches. May’s read: “Presented to Wop May as an Appreciation to Wop May for the Epoch Flight with Vic Horner to Fort Vermilion – January 2, 1929 - From the Boys.”

The total flying time was just over 14 hours, and covered a distance of 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometres). That year, May was judged the Canadian who had contributed most to aviation and received the McKee Trophy. Six years later, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire.