 On April 19, 1944, several Douglas C-47 Dakota crews from the 32nd RAF OTU set out on a cross-country navigation mission. They were to fly from Pat Bay near the south end of Vancouver Island to Port Hardy near the northwest end of the island and then return back to Pat Bay, a straight round trip being around a thousand kilometers. In spite of birds and strong winds, most of the crews were able to return safely, except for the crew of Dakota FZ-576. They found themselves lost around Port Hardy for over two hours due to the heavy cloud cover. Pilot Officer J.M. Talbot had been flying for 12 hours straight and was close to exhaustion. Due to the conditions and the lacking fuel reserves, it was decided that they would try and land at Port Hardy, even though the airport wasn't really suitable for Dakotas. Talbot missed on the first approach and went around for another try. On this approach, Talbot flew too low and hit a tree-covered hill less than eight kilometers north of the airfield. The nose of the aircraft hit a large boulder, resulting in Pilot Officer Talbot and Navigation Pilot Officer T.S. Wardlow being killed instantly. However, the wireless air gunner's Sergeant T.R. Moss survived the crash with minor injuries and was found by a search party several hours later. The plane has sat in this spot in its near entirety ever since. A commemorative obelisk was erected and placed at the site on September 25th, 2001. You can go and see this crash site today. It is located about two kilometers in the trail into Bear Cove Park across the water from downtown Port Hardy. It is a very intimate site to see and I would definitely recommend it. And on this day, make sure to commemorate and remember those who gave their lives in the war's past for our freedom that we have today.