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A few short weeks ago the Snowbirds offered a symbol of inspiration from the sky.
In the wake of tragedy, they returned to Moose Jaw on Monday to see symbols of public support from the ground.
“(The Snowbirds) were doing this mission of mercy and happiness for us Canadians and to have it end in such tragedy really anchored in our hearts the importance that they have to us,” said Jackie L’Heureux-Mason, executive director of Tourism Moose Jaw.
“It’s their 50th anniversary and they were risking their lives to do something that would lift our spirits.”
Members of the Snowbirds team returned to Moose Jaw on Monday after attending the funeral of Capt. Jennifer Casey in Halifax on the weekend. Casey was killed May 17 after ejecting from a Snowbirds jet as it crashed in Kamloops, B.C.
People in Moose Jaw came together in creative socially distanced ways to create symbols of support for the Snowbirds on their return to 15 Wing. (Adriana Christianson/980 CJME)
With its mounted Snowbirds Tutor jet along Highway 1, the tourism centre became a good alternative site for a growing memorial of flowers so the people who live on the Canadian Forces Air Base 15 Wing could have space to grieve.
L’Heureux-Mason said they took a cue from the Snowbirds popular heart stunt to put the call out for the public to cover the city in giant hearts they could see from the sky.
Frank and Judy Hartman from Regina joined a line of vehicles creating a giant heart in the parking lot of the tourism centre.
“We were both devastated and we both teared up right away. We couldn’t believe watching this plane drop from the sky and then when we heard of the fatality of Captain Jenn Casey we teared up even more, we were so devastated,” Hartman said.
Hartman described the Snowbirds as a part of Canadian culture who embody the spirit of The Friendly City of Moose Jaw. He hopes the giant hearts will send a message of love to the sky to the Snowbirds as they return from Capt. Casey’s memorial service in a single airplane.
People in Moose Jaw came together in creative socially distanced ways to create symbols of support for the Snowbirds on their return to 15 Wing. (Adriana Christianson/980 CJME)
Linda Csada-Doud expressed the same sentiment of support and love as she watched paramedics, police and firefighters arrange vehicles in a second giant heart on the exhibition grounds.
“They will see these hearts, Moose Jaw is their community and I think it’s important for our community to show our appreciation for them and to know that everybody is grieving with them,” Csada-Doud said.
Down on the football field at Central Collegiate, Lyle Johnson carefully directed people to social distance as they laid out and lifted a giant Canadian flag courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
He knows one of the Snowbirds pilots personally, as they sometimes play music together and he felt compelled to help with a symbol of appreciation for their work.
“Although it is a sad occasion, it’s also an opportunity for the people of Moose Jaw to say thank you for the things that you do,” Johnson said.
For this flyover in a single Hercules, the people on the ground hoped to find a way to lift the spirits of the Snowbirds even for a few moments as they grieve, in much the same way they were trying to do for people across Canada in Operation Inspiration.