A man who served with the 248 Fort Campbell soldiers who perished on December 12, 1985 on their way home from a peacekeeping mission to the Sinai Peninsula talked about those Screaming Eagles and their mission during Hopkinsville’s annual service Saturday afternoon at Gander Memorial Park.
Retired Col. Mark Armstrong was a company commander with Task Force 3-502nd and talked about the dangerous and sometimes boring days that made up the six-month deployment.
He was not scheduled to return home on the ill-fated Arrow Air Flight 1285 and says when he did arrive back on Fort Campbell, it was a changed place that was well supported by neighboring communities.
Other soldiers who came home from the Sinai on different flights often found it difficult to cope with their grief.
He says the annual memorials in Hopkinsville, Fort Campbell and Gander are a way to help families, friends and loved ones move forward.
Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch and Christian County Judge-Executive Steve Tribble laid a wreath to remember the 248 soldiers and eight crew members and many family members of the fallen were on hand to place a rose near the names inscribed at the memorial on Fort Campbell Boulevard.
Listen to entire ceremony below:
https://soundcloud.com/user-350001776/gander-35th-anniversary-remembrance-hopkinsville