Ex Coelis Mountain Memorial

On September 8, 2000, a ceremony was held to honour the men of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. It was held near Siffleur Falls, about 365 km southwest of Edmonton and about 4 kilometres from the mountain named Ex Coelis, Latin for "out of the clouds". They jumped "out of the clouds" and this was the battalion's motto. A memorial was unveiled at this ceremony to mark the group's heroic wartime service. The massive four peaks of the Ex Coelis mountain represent the major campaigns the battalion fought in the Second World War: Normandy, Ardennes, Rhine and Elbe. The memorial, a sister to the Le Mesnil monument in size and shape, serves three purposes: to identify the mountain and the battalion, pay tribute to the men who rest in foreign lands and those who died after the war, and affirm that while battalion members were operationally part of the British 6th Airborne Division, their role as soldiers was as Canadians. The battalion, the forerunner of postwar Canadian airborne formations, suffered more than 540 casualties. The men of the group won 18 honours and awards and 19 Mentioned in Dispatches. The project was spearheaded by the late Norm Toseland, a former Lieutenant in the battalion. Walt Romanow, a battalion veteran, brought the project to completion. Source: The Western Sentinel story from The Edmonton Sun