December 12, 200718 yr With a sad connection to Newfoundland ... From Army Times Campbell to honor plane crash deaths today By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Dec 12, 2007 5:47:00 EST One of the saddest days in the history of the 101st Airborne Division will be commemorated Wednesday with a ceremony at Fort Campbell, Ky. The 8:30 a.m. ceremony at Gander Memorial Mark on post will recall the Dec. 12, 1985, plane crash in which 248 soldiers and crew members were killed. Before the ceremony, a wreath will be placed at each of the trees planted in memory of the fallen soldiers, and another wreath will be placed at the memorial site, followed by a scripture reading and the playing of “Taps” by an Army bugler. Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk, rear detachment for the 101st Airborne Division, will lead the memorial event. The Screaming Eagles were traveling in a chartered Arrow Air Douglas DC-8 jet, which crashed on takeoff at Gander, Newfoundland. The soldiers were on their way home for Christmas after a six-month Sinai peacekeeping mission. The tragedy was the single largest loss of life in a single day for the 101st and Fort Campbell. Three years after the crash, Canada’s Air Safety Board released an official report that concluded the disaster was caused by icing on the wings.
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