The members of 3d Bn, 502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne, along with 11 other Forces Command personnel and one member of the CID, had been were coming home to Ft. Campbell from a 6 month deployment on a peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. They had flown from Cairo to Cologne, then from there to Gander, Newfoundland. They had just taken off on the last leg of the journey to be home for Christmas. They would never make it. The chartered DC-8 crashed. All 248 service members and 8 flight crew perished in the crash.
All of those on board this flight had families and friends who's lives were forever changed in an instant. This tragedy touched all of them in ways we will never fully understand. Those who served with them in the 101st were also deeply affected by the loss. It has been 29 years since this accident. Time has passed, but the pain of loss never goes away. The memories remain, the love that was shared, still exists in the hearts of those who remain.
President Reagan spoke at the memorial service and shared these poignant words, "Love is never wasted, love is never lost, love lives on and sees us through sorrow".
The names of those we lost that day can be found here: Gander Disaster
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