The wing of a CF-104 Starfighter aircraft will serve as the centrepiece of a memorial to fallen 4 Wing pilot Captain Walter “Nemo” Niemi – Supplied Photo
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A memorial to a pilot killed in an accident at CFB Cold Lake is taking shape in his hometown.
The family of Captain Walter “Nemo” Niemi says the wing of a CF-104 Starfighter aircraft will serve as the centrepiece of a memorial in Birsay, Saskatchewan, a community of just 40 people located about 140 kilometres south of Saskatoon.
Niemi’s family, including sister Nicki Niemi Cammack, has been trying to take the memorial from idea to reality for several years. It was originally intended to use a complete Starfighter as a memorial, honouring her brother and all Canadian fighter pilots who died in the line of duty.
“We were not able to obtain sufficient funding for [an entire aircraft] but were offered a much less costly but practical alternative – the wing of a Starfighter to be used as a memorial monument. We have now had this wing restored and it has been delivered to Birsay, awaiting the necessary groundwork etc. for installation.”
When the wing arrived in the community on May 24th, it was transported along with a complete Starfighter destined for California. After doing a little research, Niemi Cammack discovered her brother was no stranger to that particular plane.
“I checked my brother’s flight logbook and it turns out that this aircraft, #104747, was flown several times by my brother, and actually was the very first Starfighter that Wally flew, in his training at Cold Lake in 1982! So this aircraft and the memorial wing were travel companions for the 1700 or so miles from Toronto to Birsay!”
“Can you imagine the eye-popping experience of Birsay residents when they saw this behemoth in the wee hours of the morning?”
Captain Walter “Nemo” Niemi was a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 1981 until 1989 when he died in an accident while flying with 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron in Cold Lake.
Work is now underway to complete the memorial. Niemi Cammack says a small dedication ceremony will be held once it’s complete.
The wing is lifted over aircraft #104747, a Starfighter Niemi had flown during his career – Supplied Photo
