In memory of my late father's indelible connection to history, I urge you to help save "Canucks Unlimited" from being sold by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. As aircrew with RCAF 436 Squadron in Burma, Dad cherished this DC-3, lovingly calling her "my love." It was more than a plane—it was a flying memorial, keeping his squadron's story alive with his crest and the revered Burma Star emblem.

In his final days, seeing these symbols brought him to tears—the only thing that could still light his eyes. Though he never got a photo with his wartime plane, our family has countless pictures with him beside "Canucks Unlimited"—a token of his war years and a promise from museum staff that she'd never leave. To Dad, she was the promise that his "forgotten" boys wouldn't be erased.

Regrettably, CWH now deems her "surplus" after 40 plus years with the museum. The aircraft, being personally gifted to the museum by the museum's late founder is now on the market to be sold! Citing a "genuine artifact" C-47 from Europe as replacement. The chair calls it "not a difficult decision" due to age and maintenance , but the listing shows zero-time engines—brand new overhauls.  In the Hamilton Spectator, he admitted they "wouldn't have considered selling if the C-47 hadn't come along." Why choose which history matters more, pitting Europe against Burma when there's room for both? Two Dakotas would make CWH the only place in the world with all three WW2 RCAF transports displayed in flying condition—a global treasure.

 My three siblings and I cried over bank statements in Winnipeg, trying to buy Dad's plane ourselves and gift her back. We'll have to redirect our planned legacy gift elsewhere if she goes because it puts us in a weird way because we told Dad on his deathbed that all of us when we pass would contribute pretty much all we have to the museum to directly keep C-GDAK (Canucks Unlimited) in the air and flying the Burma Star forever. He smiled through the pain and said, "You don't know how much it means to me that you're going to keep my love in the air".  We can't let Burma's forgotten boys be erased—sign this petition to stop the sale and keep "Canucks Unlimited" in Hamilton. Let her continue as a tribute to bravery and an educational emblem. Together, we can ensure Dad's stories remain aloft, not vanish quietly.

Feel free to sign anonymously—your name won't be shown if you don't want it to be.