Members of Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 were on hand at Tourism Moose Jaw to lay a wreath at the impromptu memorial found the base of the Snowbirds Tutor jet display.
Capt. Jenn Casey – the public relations officer for the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron – was killed when the Snowbird jet piloted by Capt. Richard MacDougall suffered a malfunction on take-off and crashed into a residential area in Kamloops, B.C.. MacDougall survived and is recovering from his injuries in hospital.
The accident hit home a little harder for Legion Branch 59 vice president Sue Knox, who had prior experience with the team as a record keeper and later during her time in service.
“Because Moose Jaw is the home of the Snowbirds, we felt it was fitting to memorialize Capt. Casey and to provide something on behalf of the Legion in that respect,” Knox said.
“She made her home here for the last few years as part of the Snowbirds community, and even though the Legion is closed as part of the pandemic, we thought we would get as many as we could together on short notice and have a bit of memorial on behalf of the Legion membership.”
Legion members held an official ceremony, laying a wreath and playing Last Post and Reveille. Their tribute wasn’t the only one, as the number of flowers, wreaths and special memorial messages has grown exponentially in the week since the accident, with the City of Moose Jaw even watering the new flowers to keep them fresh.
“It’s beautiful and a really nice gesture,” Knox said.
The ceremony wrapped with members expressing their support for everyone involved.
“We certainly extend our best wishes to Capt. MacDougall and his family and hope for a speedy recovery on his behalf,” Knox said. “They’ll both be missed until he can get back in the saddle, and certainly Capt. Casey will be sorely missed by her comrades.”
