The memorial to the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and to Capt. Jenn Casey at Kamloops Airport will be taken down on Friday, May 29.
The ever growing memorial along the eastern perimeter of the airport, now almost a kilometre long, will be taken down by the Rocky Mountain Rangers along with staff from the City of Kamloops and Kamloops Airport.
The brain child of Kamloops resident Andrea Holt, the memorial began hours after the crash that killed the Snowbirds Public Affairs Officer and sent the pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall, to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
“In the spirit of the outpouring of support, the Canadian Armed Forces will preserve as many messages and items as possible and give them to the Casey family, to Captain MacDougall and to the Snowbirds,” said a statement from the City of Kamloops.
Chief among the many tributes are Canadian flags, drawings of Snowbirds, messages of support, and some Nova Scotia flags, as Casey was from Halifax.
“The support to the military from the community at Kamloops has been immeasurable and, by preserving as much of the memorial as is possible, will serve to commemorate the tragic event that happened on May 17, and the care and warmth that Kamloops has given to the Canadian Armed Forces,” added the city statement.
Holt who previously told NL News that she is proud to see how much the memorial has grown, says she is glad that many of tributes put up by Kamloopsians over the last two weeks will be preserved.
“If we weren’t there to do it, somebody else would have done it. I don’t know, I’m happy to have been a part of it,” Holt said. “I know that the base that [the Snowbirds] are from, there have been requests for things on the fence to be sent back to them for their families to have as well as for their base to keep in file.”
She adds by preserving as much of the memorial as is possible, it will help commemorate the tragic crash that happened on May 17.
“I’m very worried about the memories and stuff on that wall right now, especially because we’ve been raining, and that everything is going to be destroyed and there won’t be anything left for them to take home,” said Holt.
“There are beautiful drawings on there that everyday are less and less more clear, and you can’t see how vivid they used to be.”
Mayor Ken Christian, at a tribute ceremony to the Snowbirds at Kamloops Airport last Thursday, said when the time is right, the city will create a permanent memorial to the Snowbirds and to Capt. Jenn Casey.
