The night Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean just off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, rescuers only found one victim’s body—her name was Mrs. Benjamin.

A fishing boat brought her remains to Peggy’s Cove just hours after the crash.

By the next morning, RCMP Chief Superintendent Reginald Reeves had been named Site Commander of Canadian Forces Base Shearwater Hangar B where human remains were transported for identification.

He viewed and secured Mrs. Benjamin’s remains.

When heartbroken families and loved ones of the victims gathered in a Halifax hotel days later, a man stood and asked officials if they had recovered the remains of any black women. Reeves was standing in the back of the room that night. He had a gut feeling this was the woman this family was looking for.

When the meeting ended, Reeves escorted the Benjamin family to the air force base chapel where the body lay.

“The man and woman identified her as their mother—that was the only intact remains identifiable from the Swissair investigation.”

For years, the Benjamin family sent Reeves a Christmas card expressing their gratitude.

The other 228 victims could only be identified by dental records, x-rays, and DNA. This meant the other families didn’t get the immediate sense of finality that the Benjamin family got that night in the chapel.

In the days that followed the crash, families  arrived at Peggy’s Cove, the picturesque fishing village on Nova Scotia’s south shore, seeking  something to help them remember their loved ones. Under big blue September skies they walked the rocks to the iconic lighthouse on the washed granite cape to view the crash site on the horizon. HMCS Preserver and USS Grapple were in the debris field and fishing vessels from the community and coast guard ships surrounded the site. Some of the families were offered vials of seawater in remembrance.

The RCMP management team wanted to give the families something more.

Two days after the meeting at the Lord Nelson Hotel they brought the families to Shearwater. They had gathered whatever personal belongings had been fished from the ocean by everyone, from local fishers to Navy divers. Family members arrived to tables filled with saltwater and jet fuel-soaked mementoes – pictures, clothing, teddy bears.

“People were happy they could actually touch something that was a part of their loved one -- whether it was a purse, a notebook, a calendar, some personal item they had on them. It was powerful and rewarding for them.”

The RCMP team at Hangar B acted as exhibit custodians, family liaison personnel and forensic specialists. They worked with military and civilian medical professionals to help identify and repatriate the remains of all of the 229 people on Swissair Flight 111.   

Many people were left distraught by the enormous and emotional task. Reeves dealt with the sadness by keeping compassion and respect top of mind. The emotional impact of those days after the Swissair tragedy still lingers for many.

“There was no roadmap to follow, you had to make it up as you go along. It wasn’t hard to get caught up in the emotions of the people and what they’re trying to do … The Swissair investigation and recovery permanently harmed a lot of people, emotionally and psychologically.”

With courage, integrity and loyalty, Reginald Reeves is leaving his mark.

---