This can't be true

Those words were spoken many times in the evening of September 18th when news broke that Manitoba had lost one of its Paramedics in a tragic motor vehicle collision.

Al Watson, beloved husband, father, grandfather, Paramedic and Manitoba Honour Guard Member, was killed while en route to his home in Swan Lake MB after completing his shift at Kinasota station in the Central Region RHA.

The news shook the paramedic community in the province, sparking an immediate outpouring of support to Al’s family and colleagues.

Tributes flooded in to Al’s family from near and far through word of mouth, phone calls and the World Wide Web offering condolences and at the same time sharing some of their personal experiences with Al, be it personal or professional.

As a proud inaugural member of the Manitoba Paramedic Honour Guard, Al’s family requested the assistance of the MPHG to conduct his service. We were proud to offer the family whatever assistance we could, all the while knowing that this service was going to be extremely difficult for us as a group.

Al was a friend within a very tight knit group that are proud to call themselves Guard Members. We have spent long hours together rehearsing our drill, fine tuning ourselves so we would be ready to honour a fallen comrade when the time. None of us could have ever imagined that we would soon lay our own brother to rest.

The morning of the service, Guard members departed Winnipeg and headed for the small community of Swan Lake, not quite sure what the day would hold in store for them. The logistics of the service has been worked out, but no one was quite sure of the emotional impact Al’s passing would have on us.

I am proud to say that EMS in this province came together during this tragedy and stood side by side to offer support to Al’s wife and family and well as coworkers. Paramedics attended from NEHA, SERHA, IRHA, Central RHA, Assiniboine, Parkland, Winnipeg as well as dispatchers from MTCC. Also in attendance were individuals representing various police and fire jurisdictions. The raw emotion felt when uniformed members gave a final salute to Al was something I will ever forget.

A big thank you to everyone who offered support during this difficult time, your assistance was invaluable.


Kevin Marten, MPHG Secretary