Michael Collins, the NASA astronaut who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, died today at age 90 after battling cancer.
His family shared the news Wednesday after his passing on Collins’ Facebook page.
More info here:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/us/nasa-astronaut-michael-collins-obit-scn/index.html
OCdt Couroux
DCO
809 Newark RCACS
“Immortal”
From www.canada.ca
On April 29, 2020, six members of the CAF were killed when a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone helicopter crashed while operating from HMCS Fredericton as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. At the time of the accident, HMCS Fredericton and Stalker 22 were operating alongside Turkish and Italian Allies, conducting maritime surveillance operations and passing information between the ships and helicopter.
The following Canadian Armed Forces members were tragically killed in the crash:
Captain Brenden MacDonald, Pilot, from New Glasgow, NS
Captain Kevin Hagen, Pilot, from Nanaimo, BC
Captain Maxime Miron-Morin, Air Combat Systems Officer, from Trois-Rivières, QC
Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator, from Guelph, ON
Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Pyke, Naval Warfare Officer, from Truro, NS
Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, Marine Systems Engineering Officer, from Toronto, ON
The Recent fallen Canadians page honours the members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who have recently lost their lives in the line of duty, in the service of our country.
On Thursday, April 29 @ 1:20pm Atlantic (12:20pm Eastern), the RCAF invites everyone to join them for a video memorial to these CAF members that were lost in that accident.
https://www.facebook.com/RCAF.ARC
OCdt Couroux
DCO
809 Newark RCACS
“Immortal”
From Wikipedia:
(Manfred von) Richthofen received a fatal wound just after 11:00 am on 21 April 1918 while flying over Morlancourt Ridge near the Somme River, 49°56′0.60″N 2°32′43.71″E. At the time, he had been pursuing, at very low altitude, a Sopwith Camel piloted by novice Canadian pilot Lieutenant Wilfrid “Wop” May of No. 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. May had just fired on the Red Baron’s cousin Lt. Wolfram von Richthofen. On seeing his cousin being attacked, Manfred flew to his rescue and fired on May, causing him to pull away. Richthofen pursued May across the Somme. The Baron was spotted and briefly attacked by a Camel piloted by May’s school friend and flight commander, Canadian Captain Arthur “Roy” Brown. Brown had to dive steeply at very high speed to intervene, and then had to climb steeply to avoid hitting the ground. Richthofen turned to avoid this attack, and then resumed his pursuit of May.
It was almost certainly during this final stage in his pursuit of May that a single .303 bullet[f] hit Richthofen though the chest, severely damaging his heart and lungs; it would have killed Richthofen in less than a minute. His aircraft stalled and went into a steep dive at 49°55′56″N 2°32′16″E in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of the village of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector defended by the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The aircraft bounced heavily, and the undercarriage collapsed and fuel tank were smashed, before the aircraft skidded to a stop.[59] Several witnesses, including Gunner George Ridgway, reached the crashed plane and found Richthofen already dead, and his face slammed into the butts of his machine guns, creating contusions on his nose and face.
No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps was the nearest Allied air unit and assumed responsibility for the Baron’s remains.
His Fokker Dr.I 425/17 was soon taken apart by souvenir hunters.
In 2009, Richthofen’s death certificate was found in the archives in Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland. He had briefly been stationed in Ostrów before going to war, as it was part of Germany until the end of World War I. The document is a one-page, handwritten form in a 1918 registry book of deaths. It misspells Richthofen’s name as “Richthoven” and simply states that he had “died 21 April 1918, from wounds sustained in combat”.
For more information, feel free to visit this link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen
OCdt Couroux
DCO
“Immortal”
From the Royal Family’s Facebook page:
Today is The Queen’s 95th birthday.
The Queen was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London. She was the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
This year Her Majesty remains at Windsor Castle, during a period of Royal Mourning following the death of The Duke of Edinburgh.
OCdt Couroux
DCO
“Immortal”
Welcome back everyone.
What a couple of weeks…..We had some ups: CAP, the 80th Anniversary of the Air Cadet League and the 97th birthday of the RCAF.
And we had some downs: The passing of Prince Philip, loosing one of our past CO’s – Capt Brian Howard, the 104th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (the last one could be both an up or down, I guess)
I hope everyone that participated in the CAP had a great experience. There was definitely plenty to do and I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.
The passing Capt Howard was definitely a sad note. I’ve never met him, but I hear lots of great things from the CIC members who have. Sorry I never had the chance to meet you, sir.
There are a couple of items to bring up for this upcoming week:
1/ April 22 is the 6th birthday of the combining of the RCSU’s (Regional Cadet Support Units) and the CJCR (Cadets & Jr Canadian Rangers) under the umbrella of the Vice Chief of Defense Staff. Check it out:
2/ This week is National Volunteer Week. So let’s give a shout out to the members of the SCC and also to CV Couroux, all of whom are volunteers with the squadron. Thanks for your efforts. To the staff members, we get paid, however, we still volunteered to take these duties on, thanks for your efforts. Finally, to you, the cadets. Thanks for volunteering to join the squadron. You’re what this program is all about. We couldn’t do this without any of you. Here’s a note from Commodore Kurtz.
That’s everything for now. I’m looking forward to seeing you all during training this week.
OCdt Couroux
DCO – 809 Newark RCACS
“Immortal”
This message just came down from RCSU with regards to the CAP. I have received the new joining instructions, however I just learned that the links are flawed and that I should expect a revised copy shortly. As soon as I get it, I’ll email to each of the cadets in the squadron. Please read the following:
Regard,
OCdt Couroux
DCO
“Immortal”
Due to technical issues with the CCO Portal, we will NOT be using this option for the upcoming #CentralCAPCruise this week.
The cadets will no longer need an account for the CCO Portal. Instead, the CAP content will now be hosted using an alternative platform. No account creation or sign-up is required.
Your corps/squadron staff have been sent an email with details. They will be in the best position to help you access everything you need to have fun this week!
See you on deck tomorrow at 9am SHARP!
Happy 80th to the Air Cadet League of Canada! Without you, we wouldn’t be here. For more info on the history of the league, please check out their Facebook site here: Air Cadet League of Canada / Ligue des cadets de l’Air du Canada | Facebook
OCdt Couroux.
Hi everyone,
Passing along sad news. Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband & the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away this morning, peacefully at Windsor Castle. He was 99. Prince Philip was a large supporter of youth programs and established the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, a program which a lot of cadets, including myself, have participated in. Follow this link for more information.
Prince Philip Passes
OCdt Couroux
This Friday marks the 104th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge. This battle is of major significance to our country as it marks the first time all Canadian divisions, made up of Canadian soldiers from all across our country, fought together as one army. Vimy Ridge was secured from the German 6th Army by Canadian soldiers after 4 days of fighting which came to its conclusion in the evening of April 12. This battle is widely regarded to symbolize Canada’s coming of age as it’s own country. There were 10,602 Canadian casualties (3598 soldiers killed and 7004 wounded).
809 Sqn visited Vimy Ridge in France on 2 occasions. Here are some photos from the visit in October, 2017. 
We brought KD for the staff. They seemed to be grateful
For more information on the battle of Vimy Ridge and our significant WW1 victory, feel free to follow this link.
Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge
OCdt Couroux
Immortal!
April 1st, 1924 – The RCAF was born. Can’t believe I missed that one. Happy 97th Birthday RCAF. You look good for your age
OCdt Couroux,
Immortal!