This year’s Memorial Cup tournament in Kamloops might take on a tradition seen in Super Bowl and Grey Cup games, but with a local twist.
City council is asking the Royal Canadian Air Force for a favour as Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson will be requesting the Royal Canadian Air Force to have the 419 (Moose) Air Force Squadron conduct a flyby during the opening ceremony of the 2023 Memorial Cup on May 26.
During a recent council meeting, Coun. Mike O’Reilly suggested having the mayor send the letter requesting the fighter jet flyover, a suggestion that was approved unanimously.
Hamer-Jackson is now in the process of drafting that letter.
Coun. Dale Bass raised a concern with greenhouse gas emissions, given council’s recently approved climate action plan, to which O’Reilly explained he has been told the squadron will be in the area at the time of the tournament, noting any such visit would just be a detour.
The Kamloops-connected Moose squadron is stationed in Cold Lake, Alta. It was named Moose Squadron after its first commanding officer, Wing Commander John “Moose” Fulton, one of the most decorated and revered Kamloopsians to ever serve in the Second World War. The runway at Kamloops Airport is named Fulton Field in his honour.
Fulton was shot down in 1942 during the Second World War. His body was never found.
