FLASHER, ND ( KXNET ) — On Friday, a memorial service took place in between two small towns in North Dakota; honoring a fighter pilot who died in 1963.

“I just took it as a sign. Maybe it wasn’t, but to me it was,” said Trish Healy. For Healy, her healing journey has taken her around 60 years.

On December 19, 1963, U.S. Fighter Pilot, Captain William D. Richardson, of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at the Minot Airforce Base, was conducting a training flight around Flasher and Raleigh. Captain Richardson lost control and crashed. He was thrown from the cockpit and died on scene at the age of 33, leaving behind two young daughters.

“You know, there will always be a hole there,” said Healy.

Trish was just two years old when her dad died. After he died, her mom moved her and her sister to Texas, but she has been in Georgia for the last 30 years.

After a while, the investigator who searched her father’s crash site contacted Trish. He found a 50-cent piece that had to have been in her father’s pocket at the scene. At the time, he put it in his pocket, but now Trish keeps that memento close to her heart.

“Now, I really think it’s been a journey of healing because of the way everyone has just embraced honoring his memory,” said Healy.

“I said, there should be a memorial put up,” said Scott Nelson, from Flasher.

So, that’s exactly what Scott Nelson and the Flasher American Legion Post 69 did.

Along Highway 31, near the crash site, a memorial was put in place, and on Friday, they had an honor guard and flyover ceremony to honor his memory, his daughter, and his legacy.

Scott Nelson had the memorial put in place with the help of local shop students. Nelson was there on the day of the crash. However, he was just a baby.

“My folks were here in Flasher when it happened, and they were one of the first there before they sectioned off the area. My dad picked up a piece of the plane, which I still have, and I’m going to give that to Trish,” said Nelson.

A small community gathering together to honor an important piece of history all while giving his daughter, a little bit of peace in her heart.

“To think that after more than 60 years that my dad died that they still honor and revere his sacrifice is very heartwarming to me,” said Healy.

After the honor guard, the Flasher Fire Hall hosted a service in which Captain Hilgenhold of the Minot Airforce Base spoke, as well as Healy, Captain Richardson’s daughter.

Healy said that although it’s a trek to get to North Dakota from Georgia, she plans to make this a place to visit every few years.

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