May 25, 2009 8:07 pm US/Central
Victims' Families Want Memorial For AA Flight 191
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Firefighters on the scene of American Airlines flight 191 crash, May 25, 1979.
CBS
Thirty years ago the holiday weekend here in Chicago was marked by tragedy, as American Airlines Flight 191 crashed just after takeoff from O'Hare.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports that some victims' families say the time to build a memorial remembering the dead is long overdue.
It's not only for the dead. The crash of Flight 191 remains one of those "where were you moments?" here in Chicago. A memorial all these years later would create a healing place for victims families and countless others whose lives were touched by the tragedy.
The closest sisters Kim Jockl and Melody Smith can get to the place their parents died is a fence at O'Hare Airport at the edge of a trailer park.
"When you lose somebody in any of these situations, you never get to say goodbye," Jockl said.
It is one of the worst air disasters in U.S. history. On May 25, 1979 American Airlines Flight 191 bound for Los Angeles violently slammed into the ground after losing an engine just seconds after takeoff.
All 271 people aboard the DC 10 were killed, as well as two others on the ground. Among the dead were William and Corrinne Borchers, who'd been planning their Hawaiian vacation for months.
Following their parents' death Jockl and Smith say a close-knit family helped them stay strong. Though the crash site was visible from the nearby tollway, they avoided it for decades.
Five years ago something changed, and to help in the healing process the sisters organized a memorial service for victims' families to visit the site, even gather dirt from the place where so many perished. But conversations with the flight attendants, pilots, firefighters and police officers who also asked to attend opened their eyes to something more.
"It made you realize you were not in this alone," Smith said. "There were more horrific consequences than us."
From officers trying to identify the dead to airline workers who were supposed to be on board, the list of those struggling in the wake of Fight 191 stretches beyond the victims and their loved ones.
They learned about the gentleman who closed the door on the plane and who never closed a door again.
In nearby Northbrook a park stands in honor of crash victim Larry Fink. It is the only local memorial to anyone associated with Fight 191.
"If people can find some peace, they need to have a place to do that," Smith said.
Several families have now launched an online effort to convince officials to erect a plaque or set aside a space somewhere to remember not only the dead, but those who struggled in the wake of the tragedy.
Grief counseling sessions and the detailed computerized lists of passengers and their families that are put together after similar tragedies didn't exist 30 years ago. That may be one explanation of why it's taken so long for a number of people to come together to work toward building a memorial.
Click here to read and sign the petition for A Memorial Dedicated to The Victims Of AA Flight 191.
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