Christine Whelan, FEO
Feb 17th, 2022, VOL. 3 ISSUE 13
The GERONIMO! Skydiving Team is Canada’s only full-time, civilian parachute display team, performing in Canada and representing Canada air shows in the States. With a mission to provide the best in aerial entertainment and serve as role models and inspiration for our youth and fellow citizens, the team is a volunteer not for profit organization
In operation since 1981, originally in Pennsylvania, the US, John Wallace’s passion and commitment to the mission has brought the team’s incredible and meaningful journey to where it is now.
Sharing the early days in the States, Wallace began telling his story, thinking back, around the days when he started skydiving, 46 years ago. “We had performed all over the country and here in Canada. It was a different time, a different era back then with air shows. Bigger, public events. We were a part of a lot of events like NASCAR, concerts, NFL games.”
Then, one day, life took a traumatic turn for John. “Prior to meeting my wife, I was severely injured in an automobile accident, which took me out of the air for some time. I had to learn to walk again.” He didn’t jump for 16 years.
From the USA To Canada
“My wife, Janie, is Canadian. When we got married, she immigrated to the States. We had a cattle farm there. After 12 years there, we came here, to Ontario. I went through the immigration process and became a citizen.” They moved to Ridgeway in 2013.
At the time he and Janie moved to Ontario, John was not jumping full-time yet. He was, however, still a part of an incorporated team in the States.
Wallace described another pivotal time in his life. “When we moved here to Ontario, we went to an air show in Hamilton. I felt very much left out that I was not on the airplane jumping. I felt recuperated enough to get back into it and asked my doctor. He said, ‘Oh, absolutely now!'” John laughed.
This motivated him to get a team going in Canada. “I ran into people here who are showjumpers. They told me they had been looking for something that was organized.”
Wallace felt his purpose begin to surface. “There was no organized, civilian team in Canada. No one here has a full-time, organized, professional team where they perform at, or above the level of the SkyHawks. When we were in the States, that’s what we did with GERONIMO.”
His Mission — His Legacy
“This has become my mission, to promote civilian exhibition jumping in Canada.” John explained, “I’m 65 years old. I’m going to be doing this for a couple more years. Part of what I think we should do when we work at something is we should leave a legacy or give something back.”
He continued sharing, “This country has been very good to me and I have history here with my family. My passion is aviation and exhibition jumping. Of course, it’s always nice to have guests here, as well. But I’d like to see all our airshows or big outdoor events have Canadian jumpers.
“Case in point, Canada’s 150th-anniversary celebration,” which occurred in 2017. “The jumpers contracted were American, corporate and military teams. Our producers didn’t know that there was a Canadian team available. We’ve been bridging that gap and educating the producers.”
The Canadian Flag, And The Impact
“The big Canadian flag we have is 1,500 square feet. I got it for the 150th. We jumped with it at different towns during the 150th. After we landed, we’d fold it up and then during the parade, going through town, we’d have the citizens of the town hold the flag horizontally, walking down the street.”
John candidly shared his experiences. “Any time we deploy that flag in the air and it goes down and unfurls, its a great sense of emotion I feel doing that. We’re displaying the flag and people can see it five kilometres around. There’s always a sense of pride. There’s a certain way the flag has to be flown in the air for presentation, the same protocols as you would have when displaying it anywhere.
“We have three people that are qualified to do the flag display. I’m trying to find younger people to do this.”
The team participated in two ceremonial jumps. “One was with the States. The second one was for Canada. I only cried under canopy twice.” More laughs, but then he turned serious. “Once we did a memorial jump for baseball. A young man was killed at a baseball game 30 years ago. As I was coming down under the canopy, I could hear the announcer speaking and he was telling the story about Canada during 9/11, bringing in 200,000 people from the flights. All that Canada did for the States during this time. And when we landed, I was an emotional wreck.
“Last year, we were invited back to be a part of the 9/11 ceremony. Now, that was an emotional experience.”
More Past Shows
John listed some of the experiences the team has had. “We’ve jumped down at Mather Park as part of the Friendship Festival. We had to have four rescue boats in the water for the jump to happen.” He added that the fire department likes to use these events as hands-on training opportunities.
“We’ve developed a Superheroes jump. Captain Canuck, Spiderman, Captain America and Superman. Our guys all jump in costume. Before the jump, they will be in costume on the ground for the kids to see. Then they leave for the airport. After the jump, they spend time with the kids, signing autographs.”
For the End of Summer Parade, Labour Day, 2019 in Crystal Beach, “We jumped down as Superheroes with Old Man Summer and did a comedy skit.”
The team has jumped for the annual fundraiser for Plain Bay Polo Centre in Wainfleet and participated in Remembrance Day ceremonies with the Legion.
In 2020, Remembrance Day was going to be cancelled. No public gathering for Remembrance Day, So, the team did a virtual presentation in the air for the Legions.
The last jump two years ago, during a major air show at Sherkston Shores, there was a jump with an antique parachute into the water in commemoration of Frank Ellis, the first Canadian to make a parachute jump in the country.
During the Pandemic
“The pandemic has really played havoc with the airshows, like all the outdoor events. Sadly, here in the past two years, the Canadian airshows have been just fly-bys. The past couple of years, we’ve been performing in the States.”
He explained what the shows in the States since the pandemic have been like. Due to their pandemic rules and restrictions, the people of the audience were either in their cars or in little circles about 100 feet apart.
Coming Up This Summer
Wallace commented on a recent observation as an introduction to the summer’s planned event. “We’re at a point of COVID fatigue. People are nipping at one another, for no reason at all. We always do a show on Canada Day weekend. I suggested to the team, instead of doing a show for a public event, let’s do a show right at the airport. Let’s break the record for the number of Canadian flags in the air at one time. We’ll get that televised and simulcast so people can see it and have something to help unite them back together again. It’s called Flags Over Canada.”
He added with hope, “We’re all Canadians. We’re all in this together. We’ve all got to start respecting and loving each other again instead of nipping at each other.”
The team is looking for a sponsor for this event. “Usually when we have a sponsor for a particular jump, we have a banner made up of whatever the sponsor would like to have, a logo or business name.”
Members of the Team
“We have now on our team, here in Canada, 14 active jumpers. Most are either Canadian record-holders or competition champions in the areas of formation flying or accuracy.” There are several other jumpers who travel as long as six hours to perform with the team when they can.
“Members of our team have a minimum of 25 years experience and a minimum of 2000 jumps. Anyone who is performing with us has gone through our training camp and annual spring training, as we call it. They are either strictly civilian or they are former members of the SkyHawks or some have been members of corporate, skydiving teams. Our goal is to entertain our audiences, to be role models and to represent our nation because we do fly our colours. That’s always out of respect.
“We’re looking for new members who are interested in show jumping.” Lightheartedly, he added, “We’ve got a youngster on board now. He’s 43.”
Wallace added, “We have a training program for the Canadian skydivers who are interested in exhibition jumping or have done exhibition jumping to hone their skills and know how to put on a performance rather than just to skydive into a stadium. There’s a big difference.”
How John Got Into Aviation — His Original Inspiration
“I kind of grew up around aviation but as far as jumping out of airplanes, I was at a county fair with my grandfather and this man, he must have been 65,” stopping to make a comment that this man was his current age, “he jumped out of an airplane and landed far away, near the woods, with an old parachute. Then, he was signing autographs and talking to kids. I still have his autographed card. I was inspired after that to get into aviation; get my pilot’s licence and move on up, from that one encounter.”
He then commented on a more general, just insightful note, “Whatever you do, you’re always inspiring somebody. It could just be somebody in the shopping mall or grocery store. It’s just in how you act and what you do.
“When you have a large arena such as an airshow or a county fair, the focus is on you and you have that responsibility of being that role model. You have to be the best that you can be as a citizen so that other people can identify with you.”
John shared a memorable moment that he was so grateful to be witness to and experience. This past September in Pennsylvania, “At the end of the show, I was talking to a few people about sensing something different about that show. It was different than any other air shows we’ve been to or performed at. Collectively, we realized, everybody was there healing. It was a day of healing, finally, reconnected as a community after being separated almost two years by COVID. Even though they were physically distanced, they were together as a community and they were healing.”
You can find John and the team on Facebook: Geronimo Skydiving Team. Their website is geronimoskydiving.com and if you want to email them, the address to use is info@geronimoskydiving.com
Photos provided by Geronimo Skydiving Team
