Wabush man gets royal recognition for his work during raging Labrador wildfires
David Hawes is one of 30,000 people across Canada to receive the honour
A Wabush man is getting royal recognition for his devotion to duty during last summer's raging Labrador wildfires.
David Hawes was shocked to learn he was nominated for the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his work to maintain the Wabush Airport amid the emergency situation.
"I was just doing my job," he told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.
"It was amazing… I'm lost for words."
Last summer, wildfires in western Labrador threatened communities and prompted an evacuation order for Labrador City that forced thousands of people to flee.
Hawes, who works at the Wabush Airport as a member of the security firm Commissionaires, was at work there when the evacuation order came down and Wabush was put on standby. He stayed on the job when his replacement wasn't able to take over their shift.
"I just stayed all the way through the night until the morning — then I could get somebody to relieve me," he said.
Hawes attributed his decision to stay where he was needed to his previous career in the Royal Air Force.
"I'm ex-military," he said. "You just gotta do what you gotta do, like, and just carry on the best you could."
He was one of a handful of people managing the airport during what became an incredibly busy time, with people flying out of the area and chartered flights landing to pick up subcontractors from the mines. One day there were 28 flights incoming to evacuate hundreds of people, he said.
"The building was pretty full as the people started to leave," said Hawes.
He said he was notified he'd been nominated for the medal in the fall, and was told he was selected in mid-December.
Hawes is one of 30,000 people across Canada to receive the honour.
He credited his wife Deb Hawes for her support during the stressful period — making sure people were fed, and the Hawes' were ready to evacuate Wabush if the call came.
"She helped out tremendously," he said.
Deb said she's proud her husband is getting the medal for his contribution during the evacuation.
"If he hadn't stepped up, I think there's a lot of things that may not have actually ran smoothly at the airport during that time frame," she said.
She said Hawes didn't decide to stay at the airport that first day of the evacuation because he was told to, but because of his sense of responsibility.
"He did it because he felt that it had to be done," she said.
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With files from Labrador Morning