Special Constable Joseph Edouard Raymond Cormier – Reg.#S10410 – Death In The Line Of Duty – RCMP Honour Roll #99

It is well known throughout the Force that new members joining the Force follow in the footsteps of their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and long lost relatives who served with the RCMP. It is no different for Cadet Erica Lacasse who is a member of Troop # 10 currently undergoing training at “Depot” and set to graduate in January 2016.

Cadet Lacasse identified to one of her facilitators, Corporal Sean Chiddenton, that she was the great niece of S/Cst. Raymond Cormier who died in the line of duty August 6, 1958.   Upon checking Robert Knuckle’s book “In the Line of Duty” and Joe Healy’s RCMP Graves data base there is no photograph of Raymond Cormier.   His nieces Annette Cormier O’Connor and Lorraine Morinville wrote the piece below about their uncle and in turn Cadet Lacasse has shared the story with us.

November 2015 – Photograph of RCMP Cadet Erica Lacasse standing in front of the RCMP “Depot” Division street sign in honour of Special Constable Joseph Edouard Raymond Cormier – Reg.#S10410 (Source of image – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

The Short Life Of Raymond Cormier

According to his sister Norma, Joseph Edouard Raymond was born on September 29, 1919 in St Rita’s private hospital in Moncton NB to parents Edouard Cormier and Edna LeBlanc. He was baptized in St-Anselme de Fox Creek Church and was raised in nearby Léger’s Corner (Dieppe).^[i]

Known as Raymond, he attended high school at St Joseph’s College in Memramcook, NB. During the war, Raymond served in the RCAF between 1943 and 1945[ii]. In 1948, when his father died, he was living in Pembroke, New Brunswick.

On October 24, 1949 he joined the RCMP Air Section as a Special Constable^[iii]. In 1958, at the age of 39, Raymond died in the line of duty in a plane crash along the east shore of Skaha lake near Okanagan Falls, BC^[iv]. Raymond’s funeral in Dieppe included an RCMP honour guard and he was buried in his father’s plot at the Notre Dame du Calvaire Cemetery in Chartersville NB. ^[v]

Photograph or Raymond Cormier (left) & school chum (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

1943-44 – Photograph of Raymond Cormier with his younger brother Frank. Photo taken in front of their home in Leger’s Corner (now Dieppe NB) (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

Photograph of Raymond Cormier standing in front of a plane. (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

Photograph of Raymond Cormier standing by an aircraft. According to his mother “often recalled him he loved to fly.” (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

Why did the plane crash? Writer Robert Knuckle[i] describes the events leading up to the crash:

August 4, 1958: The naked body of 28 year old German immigrant Anita Budde is found in a fruit picker’s cabin near Kaleden, BC. The RCMP search for a 48 year old transient fruit worker Donald George Stevens.

August 5, 1958: When he is stopped for questioning on a country road near Summerland, Stevens shoots RCMP Cpl. George Browne, Reg # 14827, three times; Browne survives the shooting. The biggest man-hunt in the history of the Okanagan District is launched. The gunman is last seen disappearing into heavy bush. Local RCMP request aircraft assistance from Vancouver to search the rugged bush around Penticton. An RCMP DeHavilland Beaver CF-FHW with pontoon floats is sent, manned by pilot Staff Sgt. Stanley Samuel Rothwell, Reg # 10880, HR # 97, and air engineer Special Cst. Joseph (Raymond) Cormier. RCAF war veteran Rothwell has extensive experience as a bush pilot, having flown RCMP aircraft for 12 years with 7,200 flying hours to his credit.

August 6, 1958: The float plane touches down on Skaha Lake to pick up Cst. Richard William Green, Reg # 14740, who is familiar with the local terrain and will serve as guide and observer. All morning, the plane scouts the area back and forth. It lands twice at Skaha Lake to refuel, the last one being at 12:15 pm. At that time, because of a possible sighting of the fugitive, the search extends further to the east, to an area lying between Penticton and Okanagan Falls. At 12:40 pm, during low altitude reconnaissance, the plane crashes into the side of an unnamed mountain, killing everyone on board. No one knows exactly what happened. There is evidence that the plane is caught in a sudden down draft of turbulent air. Even the pilot’s immediate application of full power is insufficient to lift the plane. The fire from the crash starts a forest fire that spreads over 80 acres of bush. Comrades erect a six foot cross and cairn on the hillside of the crash, which motorists can see from the highway (See picture next page).

The RCMP eventually apprehends Stevens and charges him with attempted murder. Having escaped from a US mental institution, he is judged unfit to stand trial. He is deported back to a US mental institution where he dies 10 years later.

1958 – Photograph of the Honour Guard, Moncon, NB. The woman with the hat and purse behind the Mountie in the last row is Raymond’s widowed mother Edna. She is accompanied by her children and grandchildren (Source of photo — Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

Photograph of Raymond Cormier’s grave marker. He is buried with his parents Edward and Edna – Notre Dame du Calvaire in Chartersville, NB (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

1958 – Memorial Service at the crash site on east shore of Skaha Lake, BC = 4.6 miles north of Okanagan Falls. Comrades of the three men erected the cross. Raymond’s sister Doris Cormier (white coat) attended the service on behalf of the family. His girlfriend also attended. (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

Photograph of a memorial plaque that is mounted on the wall of the RCMP “Depot” Chapel in Regina, Sask which includes the name of Raymond Cormier (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

Photograph the “Depot” Division street sign named in honour for S/Constable Raymond Cormier (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

Raymond contines to be remembered by his family. His nephew Raymond Morinville bears his name. His neice Lorraine Morninville visits Ottawa every year to hear his name called at the Canadian Police And Peace Officers’ Memorial on Parliament Hill.

Photograph of the RCMP “Depot” Division Cenotaph with the name of all Force members killed in the line of duty. Special Constable Raymond Cormier’s name is highlighted in red (Source of photo – Sheldon Boles).

At the “Depot” there is a “simulated town” to train RCMP recruits such as Raymond’s great neice Cadet Lacasse. A street (Cormier Lane) and motel (Cormier Court) are named after Raymond. He is referred to as J.E.R. Cormier or Joseph Cormier in most memorial documents. Fifty years after Raymond’s death his niece Annette Cormier O’Connor visited “Depot”. She was 8 years old when her uncle died and remembers being in the funeral cortege in Moncton. She was driven along with her 9 year old brother Ted in an RCMP police vehicle. Her brother Ted remembers seeing his father Francois (Frank) Cormier weep upon the news of Raymond’s death; Ted was stunned as it was the first time that he saw his father cry. As a young boy, his father Frank was nicknamed ‘Shadow’ because he was always following his big brother Raymond. It is fitting that the website of RCMP graves^[i] lists Joseph Ernest Francois right after his brother Joseph Edouard Raymond. Raymond is likely kidding Frank that, even in death, he is still his “Shadow”.

Photograph of Special Constable Raymond Cormier wearing a RCMP tunic (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

[i] Go to RCMP Graves http://www.rcmpgraves.com/, search for Cormier and find two names starting with Joseph.

[i] Knuckle Robert. In the Line of Duty. The honour roll of the RCMP since 1873. Burnstown Ontario: The General Store Publishing House, 1994, p249-252.

[i] Ancestry.com, Registres de l’Église catholique française de l’Acadie (Collection Drouin), 1670 à 1946 (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.Original data – Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec).

[ii] Knuckle Robert. In the Line of Duty. The hounbour roll of the RCMP since 1873. Burnstown Ontario: The General Store Publishing House, 1994, p249-252.

[iii] See RCMP Honour Role Member #99 http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hon/lineduty-exerfonc/honour-honneur-roll-tableau-eng.htm. Also RCMP Graves http://www.rcmpgraves.com/

[iv] Ancestry.com, British Columbia Death Index: 1872 to 1979 (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.Original data – British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency. British Columbia, Canada. British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency: P.O. Box 9657, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 9P3.Origin).

[v] See RCMP Honour Role Member #99 http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hon/lineduty-exerfonc/honour-honneur-roll-tableau-eng.htm. Also RCMP Graves http://www.rcmpgraves.com/