A memorial for the four officer cadets who lost their lives last month in a fatal crash at The Royal Military College took place during Thursday night’s sunset ceremony.
Officer cadets Jack Hogarth, Andrei Honciu, Broden Murphy, and Andrés Salek were killed when their vehicle entered Lake Ontario at Point Fredrick on RMC campus in the early hours of April 29th.
Each officer cadet was set to graduate this year, but instead was remembered and celebrated by close friends through tributes during the ceremony
“Andres Salek you embody true humility,” said officer cadet Amy Byun.
“You were always humble and put the needs of others before your own,” she said stopping once during the speech to collect herself.
“Jack, Andrei, Broden and Andres I bid you fair winds and following sea,” said Commodore Josée Kurtz, the head of The Royal Military College of Canada.
“I know you were to be army and air-force officers but I hope you appreciate the special naval send off” she added in her tribute.
This is the first year since the pandemic that a sunset ceremony has taken place and officials with the college say it was the graduating class who organized the special tribute, as a way for the RMC community to grieve together.
“He was a wonderful, talented, charismatic, young man.”
The tribute to the four fallen cadets was followed by a drum-in band performance and traditional sunset ceremony with fireworks dedicated to the fallen cadets.
It’s a celebratory time for the graduating class of 2022 that has been dampened by the loss of four young lives.
Investigators haven’t said anything more about the details of the fatal incident other than there was “no foul play from an outside source.”