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On Sept. 22, 2017, following hurricanes in the Jacksonville, Fla., area, a parachute and accompanying items were retrieved from a beach near Naval Station Mayport, which is located near Jacksonville.
These items were identified as belonging to Lt William Thomas Barry Troy, a pilot with the Royal Canadian Navy who lost his life on Feb. 25, 1958, when his McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee fighter jet vanished in dense fog following takeoff from Mayport.
Troy and the pilots of three other Canadian Banshees had been participating in joint exercises with the United States Navy at Mayport and were returning to Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Bonaventure. Troy’s remains were never found.
On Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, the artifacts will be formally transferred to the care of the Royal Canadian Air Force at a brief ceremony at Naval Station Mayport.
The event will also be an opportunity to thank the Jacksonville park ranger, Zachary Johnson, who retrieved the items from the beach, and the Jacksonville police officer, Officer Nolan Kea, who has been safeguarding them.
Troy’s brother, Dick Troy, and his wife Pauline Troy, along with senior military personnel from the United States and Canada, are also scheduled to participate.
Following a larger event in Ottawa at a date yet to be announced, most of the artifacts will, in time, be displayed at the Aviation Museum at 12 Wing Shearwater, N.S.
At the time of Troy’s death, 12 Wing was a Royal Canadian Navy establishment and Troy’s home base. All military aviation assets, missions, and organizations, including 12 Wing Shearwater, are now the responsibility of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
