Const. David Wynn honoured in RCMP national memorial service

Corporal George Ronald Hawkins and Constable David Matthew Wynn are the two Mounties whose names were added at the ceremony. According to a press release, the numbers of fallen members now total 236 since the creation of the North-West Mounted Police in 1873.

RCMP members from across Canada gathered in Regina Sunday morning to honour two fallen comrades who lost their lives in the line of duty – Const. David Matthew Wynn and Cpl. George Ronald Hawkins.

The ceremony, which took place at the RCMP Academy Depot Division, is an annual event held on the second Sunday of September – a tradition dating back to the mid-1930s.

Const. Wynn died on January 21, 2015 after being shot while attempting to apprehend a suspect in a stolen vehicle investigation at a casino in St. Albert, Alberta.

Cpl. Hawkins died on June 6, 1968 as a result of encephalitis. He developed the illness while on duty tracking a suspect in the Turtle Mountains of southwest Manitoba.

Officials said the names of both men were added to the RCMP Cenotaph, Honour Roll and Memorial Wall – bringing the total number of fallen members to 236 since the creation of the North-West Mounted Police in 1873.

“As we take the time to remember those memorialized on the wall, also remember that what you do every day in the field or in the office in service to Canadians honours the uniform and the country these heroes died for,” RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said in a statement.

“Every time you take a criminal off the streets, every time you help a child, every time you help someone feel safe in their home, you honour these heroes,” he added.

Family members as well as dignitaries, veterans, cadets, and troops from across the country gathered to pay tribute.