Sad anniversary
This week marks one of the sadder anniversaries in Army history.
No, not a major battle, but a reminder that anything to do with war has its risks. Even so-called “peacekeeping”.
On December 12, 1985, a DC8 full of 101st soldiers made their second stop of a trip from Cairo to Cologne to Gander, Canada and then home, returning from a six month tour with the Multinational Force and Observers mission in the Sinai.
A total of 248 soldiers and eight crew members were killed.
U.S. Army Veteran Paul Bartone said, “My initial reaction was shock, ‘What’s going on here?’ It was kind of hard to believe that such a large number of soldiers could be killed like that.”
The plane crashed on a trip back from the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt going toward Fort Campbell. The plane stopped in Gander, Newfoundland. As the plane was leaving Gander, investigators say the plane, which was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8, stalled and crashed just a half mile away from the runway. Spectrum News
It was a Thursday morning when the aircraft was en route to Kentucky. Just after takeoff, on runway 22, it rotated nearly a minute after brake release. The plane was traveling 167 KIAS.
The aircraft had trouble gaining altitude afterward. It did lift into the air at a speed of 172 KIAS, but decreased again and descended.
It was roughly 900 feet away from the runway. Because of the significant amount of fuel in the plane, the crash caused a fiery explosion.History Collection.com
It was not only the deadliest crash in the history of the 101st, but also the deadliest crash in Canada’s air history as well.
Claims were made by the Islamic Jihad for the crash but the Canada Air Safety Board did not find them credible, although four of the board members expressed that an on-board explosion could have led to the engine failures. The majority of the board suggested that icing on the wings may have been the cause, although no ice was reported. Unfortunately the flight recorders were unreadable after the crash so no clear cause has ever been established.
256 in total died. Eight crew members. 236 members of the 101st, the other 12 from other units.
Arrow Air flight 1285. Say a prayer for those on board.
What a tragedy…
May comfort find those who need it, as time mutes, but nothing more.
Rest In Peace
SPC John M. Kuehn, died in that crash. He was member of the Brandywine High Class of 1983, and a classmate of mine. His funeral was attended by around 300 people. He was just 20. Rest in Peace.
https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=4362
Time once again for my annual tribute to a good buddy of mine while we were both in HHC, 1/15 Inf at Harvey Barracks, Kitzingen from 81-83. He perished in this airplane, so:
RIP SSG Steven Allen Andrehoff, Jr.
His beautiful wife Sandy has also passed, so my prayers go out to all of their families.
The memorial tree park is right around the corner from the 3/187 footprint from my day. I’d heard that they frontloaded married personnel and those with dependents, making it all the more tragic. Not that parents deserve to bear a burden, but promising young marriages that never saw their full potential and children waiting for Daddy to come home just seems like it’s a bit worse.
fort campbell – Bing Maps
Unimaginable heartbreak.
Well, damn…as I did my map recon of Campbell and noticed the 3rd BDE “Rakkasan” footprint had moved to the old DISCOM, later 4th BDE “Curahee”, footprint, I found the magic of Google Maps and managed to get the link to the exact site to work. Only:
Renewal: New Gander memorial begins to take shape as old site is cleared | Article | The United States Army
I zoomed in and it’s eerie, the tree park is gone if you zoom in, from lush greenery to dirt.
December 12, 1985. It was a cold day at Fort Campbell, bright sunshine but the air would cut you like a knife if you left it exposed to the wind.
We were waiting at Campbell Army Airfield. Wives were waiting for their husbands to return after six months. It was just before Christmas, and his present was wrapped under the tree. Yellow ribbons were on every tree. Some soldiers had even called home from Gander “I’m on my way, I’ve got maple syrup candy for the kids.”
The 101st Airborne Division Band was playing cheerful music and Christmas music … “When Johnny comes Marching Home Again …”.
Then the band was told to pack their instruments.
Then every Chaplain on Fort Campbell arrived at the hanger.
This Judge Advocate (for the 2nd Brigade) had to return to his office and prepare a set of orders for the Battalion Executive Officer: “Under the provisions of AR 600-20, Paragraph 2-9 [death of the commander] the undersigned assumes command.”
A very solemn moment in time, but the battalion is never without a commander.
Much later, the lyrics of a 1970’s James Taylor song came to mind:
Been walking my mind to an easy time,
my back turned towards the sun;
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it’ll turn your head around.
Well, there’s hours of time on the telephone line
to talk about things to come,
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.
Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain,
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end,
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,
But I always thought I’d see you again.
I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to many places all over the globe. Including Northern Europe, Canada, Alaska, all over the Northern US. The coldest I have ever been, was at Ft Campbell KY. 3-days in the field and the high was 17 degrees! Shivered so much and so hard that my back hurt for a week after ENDEX!
Rest In Peace To All.
Salute.
Never Forget.
Thank You, David, for posting.
Claw’s friend, SSG Steven Andrehoff, is first on the list.
“List of Passengers Aboard Arrow Air Military Charter Jet”
“Following is the passenger manifest of the Arrow Air charter jet that crashed Thursday in Gander, Newfoundland. The Defense Department, releasing the list yesterday, said it gives hometowns of next of kin who have been notified.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/12/15/list-of-passengers-aboard-arrow-air-military-charter-jet/dcaf0b72-a4d1-4324-b7e2-58ee16a4d0cd/
Thank Snake, he suggested the column.
Hand salute!
RIP
Its about a 23-hour ride with a boat in middle, been thinking about it.
Arrow Air flew me home from the Med for a family emergency. The crew were wonderful. It was a DC-8.
May they never be forgotten, and may they rest in peace. God be with their families as they will surely never forget this sad anniversary.
I couldn’t have said it better, Sparks.
A tragedy that many of us remember…and some that still believe that is was no “accident”. How many of us felt “A part of me died along with those Troopers” and/or “There but for the Grace of God go I”. No one ever knows when they will be called on to cash that Blank Check that they had signed. Notice, too, that those Troopers were from all over the Country.
I stole the below linky from BCE. He posted the story yesterday. Take a minute to read thru his history of this. The comments have some from people that were involved in the recovery. Pay particular note of the comment made by Alemaster. Full disclosure…Dust Bunnies and onion ninjas are out in full force.
Rest In Peace, Troopers…We’ve got The Watch.
https://bigcountryexpat.com/index.php/2023/12/12/hoist-a-glass-and-say-a-small-prayer-for-the-lost/#comments
I never liked flying commercial charter when I was in. Late 2000 we did a rotation to NTC, flew Tower Air aka Terror Air, into and out of the old Victorville air base. Return trip we were on one of the smaller planes and were loading via the tail ramp. Being the good soldiers we were, we ALL noticed the class 3 fluid leak dripping from the tail engine forming a large puddle as we lined up at the tail stairs and said something to the cabin crew. They assured us it was fine. We all strapped in and I had visions of a fiery death. We sat there for like 30 min before the pilot ordered everyone off because that plane wasn’t going anywhere.
This crash happened when I was in the 6th grade and in the limited world view I had back then it really was a passing news story and nothing else. As a older man now with all my military and life experience, I have wondered if, like in my own experience on that cold Cali day in Victorville, if maybe there wasn’t a problem, known or unknown, that should have grounded that aircraft, but the pilot felt compelled to make that final leg of that Gov chartered flight, in much the same way the flight crew of my flight clearly were going to try and get that plane in the air, despite all the oil/FRH leaking out of that engine nacelle.
I sometimes feel like I have cheated death more times than anyone deserves to have.
I remember when that happened and several times in the years since, I have walked the commemorative tree grove at FT Campbell in their honor. The trees get bigger ever time I happen through those old stomping grounds. May God bless them and their families and loved ones!
Our recent subject of Valor Friday, COL Lew Millett, lost his youngest son on that flight.
John Millett, Sgt., Idyllwild, Calif.
RIP.
Heartbreaking. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for the families, who knew their Soldiers were flying in.
CPT Kyle Lee Edmonds Class of 1979