She loved the Tragically Hip, the Montreal Canadiens and Canada’s famous Snowbirds.
It doesn’t get more Canadian than Capt. Jenn Casey, who died Sunday when one of the Snowbirds aerobatic team's jets crashed in Kamloops, B.C.
“When you think of Canadiana, she was it,” said her close friend Tim Durkin, who worked with Casey at CJBQ, a radio station in Belleville, before she embarked on a career in the Royal Canadian Air Force. “She embraced everything Canada was and embodied it.”
She did her part. Now it’s our turn.
Send Casey home along Canada’s Highway of Heroes like those who fell before her. A Snowbirds flyby with one plane missing in their formation would be a nice touch, too.
A great photo of @_jenncasey with Rob Baker of @thehipdotcom at @EmpireTheatre_ Rockfest. Her favourite band. pic.twitter.com/02egObeHXb
— Tim Durkin (@QuinteDurkin) May 18, 2020
The fallen public affairs officer deserves both, and Canada needs to properly grieve. Casey and the Snowbirds were, after all, on a cross-country tour designed to boost spirits while we isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Casey, 35, was on board a red-and-white Tutor CT-114 jet piloted by Capt. Richard MacDougall. When the aircraft ran into trouble after taking off from Kamloops airport, both ejected; Casey died and MacDougall suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
An investigation will determine what happened, but first, we need to honour Casey — a special person who went from journalism to become a military officer.
“She was very honoured,” Durkin said of her work with the RCAF. “Just a great person. Whatever she was into, she did with a passion.”
CJBQ 800 AM morning man Lorne Brooker described her as “so smart, funny and warm.”
A Nova Scotian storyteller, she was a journalist before joining as a Public Affairs Officer.
— Canadian Forces in 🇺🇸 (@CAFinUS) May 18, 2020
Across Canada and the United States, she brought stories and smiles.
She was one of us, our sister.
Captain Jenn Casey died today.
Please say her name.
Remember Jenn.
-30- pic.twitter.com/irCwKc5ThY
Added Durkin: “She was the epitome of the great people of the East Coast. Meet her a minute and she was your friend.”
A tweet from the Canadian Forces described her as “a Nova Scotian storyteller ” who “brought stories and smiles. She was one of us, our sister.”
“The Snowbirds’ Op INSPIRATION brought joy to Canadians across our country,” said Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canada’s chief of defence staff. “We come together in their time of need. To the family of Capt. Jenn Casey, we send our condolences. Know that she was an inspiration to many and she will be missed.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: “I join all Canadians in mourning the loss of a member of the CF Snowbirds Operation Inspiration team, Captain Jennifer Casey.”
Like the helicopter crash that claimed six fine Canadians April 29 over the Ionian Sea near Greece, this was a Canadian military operation and Casey was killed in the line of duty. The Canadian helicopter crew received a proper farewell along the Highway of Heroes on May 6.
Tonight, I join all Canadians in mourning the loss of a member of the @CFSnowbirds #OpInspiration team, Captain Jennifer Casey. I’m sending my deepest condolences to her loved ones, and wishing Captain Richard MacDougall a full recovery.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 18, 2020
Her duty was part of the unofficial war against the coronavirus. Her death is no different than any of the previous operational or training deaths.
A repatriation is needed in three places: CFB Moose Jaw, 15 Wing, home base of the Snowbirds; then to CFB Trenton 8 Wing, where all repats take place; and, of course, finally in her beloved hometown of Halifax.
The whole country is hurting. While respecting social distancing along the Highway of Heroes, people will pack locations along the route to pay homage to this great patriot.
She was doing her best to help her fellow Canadians during this difficult lockdown.
Now it’s her fellow Canadians’ turn to say thank you.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
