A boy, a girl, and a soldier.
They're holding hands in Gander, Newfoundland. They're facing Kentucky.
We told you about them before.
We'll you again for #MemorialDay.
1985. 12 days before Christmas Eve.
American soldiers in Egypt finish their tour. A plane is waiting to carry some of them home.
Some soldiers give their tickets to those with spouses and children. They want them to get them home early.
They board the plane.
After six-months on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula, they are tired and eager for home as they cross the Atlantic.
There’s a final pit stop. The soldiers pour into this airport. Some of you might have seen it since.
They sing and dance to Christmas songs.
They buy toys and candy to bring home to giddy children.
They buy shirts: “I survived Gander, Newfoundland.”
Cynthia Goodyear is working night shift at the airport. She's excited for them.
Cynthia: “You’re going home at last.”
A soldier: “I hope so.”
Specialist Paul Bostwick was supposed to be home a week earlier but stayed in Egypt to receive a promotion.
He’s planning to surprise his family with the news.
It’s two days before his nineteenth birthday.
Sergeant Rudy Parris, a 41-year-old veteran of Vietnam and three tours in the Middle East, calls his wife from the airport.
Malinda: “How come you called me when you are going to see me so soon?
Rudy: “I just wanted to talk to you."
Sergeant Richard Nichols wasn’t scheduled to be on the flight. He calls from Gander to surprise his wife and say he’d be home soon.
As Amy scrambles to tidy, their son is watching cartoons. Breaking news flashes on the screen. He runs to his mother.
“Daddy is dead.”
Richard, Rudy, Paul, and their fellow soldiers had boarded the plane for home.
Shortly after take-off, Arrow Air Flight 1285 descended quickly and crashed in a wooded area just beyond the runway. Fire engulfed the fuselage.
There were no survivors.
Corporal Tammy Ellefsen, a volunteer firefighter, rushes to put out the blaze.
She is focused on her job, but can’t help notice the tattered wrapped Christmas presents in the debris.
"I didn’t cry until I got back to the fire hall and everything started sinking in.”
Corporal Bob Smith is called to come in for an emergency. He is expecting a small plane or helicopter. They rarely faced fatalities in Gander.
“This was completely overwhelming.”
But he stays to help. He wants to take care of the victims.
army.mil/article/160402…
The Americans arrive to bring their fallen home.
To women with unborn babies.
To would-be fiancés.
Home to young children 12 days before Christmas Eve.
“You do not grieve alone. We grieve as a nation, together.”
Captain Michael Eastman died in the crash. At Fort Campbell, his sister Linda met people from Gander.
Representatives from the town travelled to comfort the families. Gander comforted Linda for years.
“They treated our soldiers like family members.”
saltwire.com/atlantic-canad…
In 2019, they renamed the highway near the crash site to honor the 248 soldiers and eight crew members who died.
The land in Gander is still marked by that day.
The people are still marked by that day.
A girl, a boy, and a soldier holding hands in Newfoundland.
They're looking towards Kentucky for those who never saw it again.
Please remember them.
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