After being diagnosed with terminal, inoperable cancer, Myron Allen had only one thing on his bucket list.
The former Army aviation soldier mentioned to a friend he would love a Chinook to land at his kids' school, but with his experience in aviation planning, he dismissed the idea as unachievable.
So when he heard the distinctive heavy rotor beat of a CH-47 earlier in the week around Brisbane, he thought nothing of it.
But, as he watched a CH-47 Chinook touch down at the Kurwongbah State School oval, he burst into tears.
He was told he was there for a school meeting, but as they wheeled him towards the oval, he realised what was happening
"You don't have a meeting at an oval, so I knew what was going on and cried the whole way down," Mr Allen said.
The Chinook was piloted by Commanding Officer 5th Aviation Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Lean, who Mr Allen remembered as a fresh-faced lieutenant from his time as a mission support ground crewman.
Kurwongbah Principal Leanne Odorico said when she was contacted by Lieutenant Colonel Lean the school pulled out all stops to make it happen.
"We found out the Chinook was flying down this week, and even though we had other events happening, we knew we couldn't miss this opportunity," Ms Odorico said.
The school children were given an up-close look at the helicopter and spoke with the flight crew.
Mr Allen's sons, Elijah and Jonah, were given the privilege of sitting in the cockpit and trying on a flight helmet.
Born and raised in the UK, Mr Allen moved to Australia in 2005 after meeting his Australian wife, Linda, on holiday in England.
He joined the Army in 2009 and posted to 5th Aviation Regiment, later deploying to East Timor in 2011 as part of the Timor Leste Aviation Group.
While there, he won a competition to rename the aviation base in Dili 'Camp Creado', in honour of Timorese boys who helped Australian soldiers in World War 2.
An artist since childhood, in 2013 Mr Allen began a series of manga-style graphic novels to help soldiers come to terms with mental health issues.
After news of his novels got out, he was contacted by Army multimedia technicians and asked if he would consider changing jobs - posting to the 1st Intelligence Battalion after transferring.
"Collecting and manipulating data to affect the battlespace was fascinating. It was hard, stressful work, but it was one of the proudest things I have done in my life," Mr Allen said.
