Today marks 23 years since the actor Jason Bernard passed away. Sadly, we've lost a number of friends and familiar faces over the years, but this one still looms large in my mind after more than two decades. 1996 was an intense year for Wing Commander fans. The year started with the launch of Wing Commander 4 and new ports of WC3 were still being released through the spring. The CCG came out in August, Academy television show in September and Kilrathi Saga launched October 15. As evidenced by the current CIC poll, a large number of Wingnuts were coming online for the first time in 1996... and then the news of Mr. Bernard's passing hit like a ton of bricks. Fortunately, this nascent community of mostly invincible-feeling teenagers and 20-somethings were able to come together and collectively share their grief as fans. One such gathering place was the Worlds of Origin memorial, which is archived here. Mark Hamill even recently remembered Mr. Bernard on Twitter with some kind words. While none of us may have known the man personally, by all accounts, he was a remarkable person who continues to be greatly missed.
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