101st Airborne commemorates 35th anniversary of division’s largest single-event loss of life

Gander Newfoundland. Such a tragedy. I knew several of those troops from my years with the 101st Abn, Aaslt. Rest In Peace.

I got there right after it happened Jan 1, 1986 took the Division from Dec to EOM April to recover emotionally. I think that was our last big memorial service and last funeral detail end of April. The People of Gander deserve special thanks from our country, some of them waded through the wreckage salvaging Christmas gifts the deceased troops had bought and gift wrapped for their families, rewrapping them and sending them onto Fort Campbell, along with any identifiable personal effects. That took a lot of emotional courage and time for them to do. Every year they are at that memorial in Gander, holding a service and remembering the tragedy. I remember the Summer that followed was also a drought and hot has hell, some of the trees they planed in memorial died from heat and lack of water and had to be replaced the next year. The division had their fire trucks pumping water trying to save as much as they could that first summer but not much impact there. Anyways they replaced them and nobody is the wiser today. Gander has a facebook page, check it out for their first hand accounts of the tragedy and the attendance at their memorial service which is pretty heavy even today.

I can only imagine the pain that their loved ones felt.