Photo from Town of Gander Facebook
Gander, Newfoundland held its own services Saturday to honor Fort Campbell’s 248 soldiers and the eight crew members who died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from their airport 35 years ago.
Percy Farwell is the mayor of Gander and says the 101st Airborne Division’s brush with his town was supposed to be brief that morning until tragedy struck.
He says many Americans who lost loved ones in the crash have visited Gander’s Silent Witness Memorial to help find peace over the years.
Mayor Farwell says the tragedy helped form a bond between Gander and their American neighbors that remains strong.
While the annual memorial was held in a church and was streamed online, Gander still held its customary wreath-laying at the memorial near the crash site.