'I will never forget'

I was 11, and still an Alterboy at Sacred Heart Church in Huntington. Father Jacobs had been at the crash site all night until coming to the church for 8 AM Mass. I will never forget the smoke smell, and the look in his eyes as we helped him with his robes. He described the horrible scene to the parish, and although I was young, it was the most surreal moment of my life to that point.

-Brian Angle

'My prayers still go out'

I was a member of the Miami University football team during that fateful year and I can still vividly remember that tragic plane crash. Although most of us never got to meet the Marshall players that died that day we all felt that we had become to know them very well after listening to exhaustive scouting reports on the Sunday before our game with Marshall that year.

Now, years later, with two boys at the same young age as what most of those boys were on the plane that day my prayers still go out to the family and friends of those young men whose lives were taken at the prime of their life.

-Dave Pataky

'Never coming back'

I was 7 years old when this event occurred. I clearly remember my mother answering the phone, the hysteria that ensued, and then Mom trying to explain to me why my Aunt Pat (Patricia Vaught) was never coming back. That was 36 years ago, and I'll never forget it.

Perry Jones

Chesapeake, VA.

'I love Marshall'

I was ten and my dad went to Marshall and was a big sports fan. We lived in Kenova and were not far from the crash. I remember the flames on TV and Dad saying "I hope the boys are all right". Well the rest is history. I went on to graduate from MU as well as two sisters,a brother and my son. I love Marshall as more than a school and still get a chill talking about it. I now live in Baltimore, but MU is always in my heart.

John David N.

'No stars were to be seen'

My husband and I were seniors the year of the plane crash. We were out in his volkswagen at the service station down on 1st Street getting gas when we heard over the radio the news the Marshall's football team had crashed short of the runway. The attendants heard it at the same time, and it was so unreal to us all that something that tragic could happen in Huntington, WV. I remember, too, what a dark, cold and rainy night it was. No stars were to be seen. I discovered the next day my landlord, Murrill Ralsten, and his wife were also on the plane. It really bothered me they had two small children left behind. I often wonder whatever happened to them.
-Anonymous

'He knew them all'

I was newly married and visiting my parents the night of the plane crash. My brother, John Hurst, called to let us know he was not on the plane. My aunt and uncle did not know that he had called and came to the house at 7:00 a.m. the next morning because they thought "Johnnie" was on the plane. I will never forget the relief that his life was spared as well as the sorrow that so many others were lost. John can still tell so many wonderful stories of his fellow players. He had used the last of his eligibility and was finishing his education that year. He knew them all and still remembers so much. I wish that he had been contacted when the movie was made. He is a fountain of information having played the two previous years.
-Anonymous