Fallen Eagles Remembered

There's a large memorial site at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, next to a quiet field of 248 trees, each marked with a bronze plaque and a name. Next Saturday, wreaths will be laid at a somber ceremony, and a bugler will play 'Taps'. Across this nation, parents and wives and families will reflect, and tell those who were once young children stories of the fathers whom they cannot remember.

Thirty years this time. More years than most of them were on this Earth.

Arrow Air Flight 1285. The crash at Gander, Newfoundland. December 12, 1985. The largest peacetime loss of life in the history of the United States military.

The 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) was a superb unit. For six months, the battalion had been deployed as part of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission, a U.N. peacekeeping operation in the Sinai. The MFO operation was a success and concluded ahead of schedule, and the 'Screaming Eagles' of Task Force 3-502 were heading home for Christmas.

They left Cairo on a chartered Arrow Air DC-8-63, refueled in Cologne, Germany, and made a final stop in Gander, Newfoundland.

Local Gander residents recalled how the tiny airport was suddenly filled with jubilant soldiers, buying Christmas presents and souvenirs, singing carols, swarming the bank of pay phones ... calling their families with the news that they would indeed be home for the holidays. There were no cell phones or personal computers in 1985.

The plane departed from Runway #22 at 0645 hours. And somehow, everything went horribly, terribly wrong. The official report would later state excessive ice on the wings. Barely gaining altitude, the plane impacted 3,000 feet from the end of the runway, exploding in an unimaginable hell no words can describe. Within moments, 248 soldiers and 8 crew members perished.

At Fort Campbell, a merry welcoming celebration was underway with banners, gift, balloons, music and carols. Wives and children, friends, fellow soldiers, the Division band, and even a few parents were gathered in the unit's gymnasium, 13 days before Christmas, joyfully awaiting the arrival of their loved ones just hours away. Then the word came.

I was serving with the 3-502 when the MFO assignment was received, and looking forward to the deployment. But for reasons known only to God, I was one of a few soldiers transferred to our sister unit in the Berlin Brigade before the mission commenced. On board Flight 1285 were my roommate, dozens of friends, and the entire S-3 (operations) section where I had served for two years. They were some of the finest men I've ever known, and some of the best friends I've ever had.

It took several months to identify all of the remains. The 248th funeral was held in May 1986.

Four days after the crash, President Ronald Reagan spoke at a memorial service at Fort Campbell. I watched it on Armed Forces Network in Berlin, hearing some of the most profound remarks ever given by any President. You can see it here:


It's doubtful you'll hear about Flight 1285 this week. So I ask you that on this day of days, December 12, remember them. Remember 248 of our nation's finest who gave up all of their tomorrows in the service of their nation.

Blessed are the peacemakers.