Image Credit: Contributed / Tonya Buis

By James Peters

Snowbird Crash

Makeshift memorial to Snowbirds at Kamloops Airport to be removed, preserved

May 26, 2020 | 9:04 AM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops and the Canadian Armed Forces are assuring the public that the impromptu memorial for Capt. Jennifer Casey near the Kamloops Airport will be preserved, even as it is being removed later this week.

In a news release, the City says the memorial will be removed on Friday (May 29). Members of the Rocky Mountain Rangers will take the items down, along with staff from the City of Kamloops and Kamloops Airport.

Capt. Casey was killed after ejecting from a Snowbird jet May 17, shortly after it took off from the airport. The pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall, was injured.

Members of the public added to the memorial along the eastern perimeter of the airport in the days following the crash.

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The Forces will preserve as many items as possible in order to give them to the Snowbirds, Capt. Casey’s family and the family of Capt. MacDougall.

“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,” says the release.