Among those last to leave Thursday afternoon’s solemn Gander Memorial ceremony in Hopkinsville: Susan Holloman and her close family.
She didn’t want to talk, but did note things get no easier with each passing year — 39 of them now since her father, Command Sergeant Major Haslund Ora “Blackie” Black, better known as “Jumping Jerry” around here, was one of 248 Fort Campbell soldiers and eight crew members who died December 12, 1985, when Arrow Air Flight 1285R took off from Canada’s Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, and never landed in south western Kentucky.
Still considered the worst peacetime air disaster in Canadian history, an investigation by the Canadian Aviation Safety Board determined the cause of the crash came through a multitude of factors: unexpected high drag, reduced lift conditions, ice contamination and underestimated onboard weight.
It did not explain, however, why Black and so many others didn’t make it home safely just before Christmas — following a relatively-standard six-month deployment in the Sinai Peninsula.
Less than three hours after a remembrance ceremony in Fort Campbell, 101st Airborne Division Colonel and 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team Commander James Stultz offered more words to Christian Countians in grief, noting ceremonies like these help bring everyone together for an important, needed message.
Among his many former titles and accomplishments — high school and college basketball star, tourism director for Cadiz-Trigg County, Western Kentucky University Athletic Hall of Famer and leader of the Kentucky Annual Conference — Rev. Harry Todd retired from the Army in 1991, while in service to Fort Campbell as its garrison command sergeant major.
Keenly aware of the eternal pain caused by the crash, he offered prayer and a message of faith.
Shannon Lane, Christian County Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs director, confirmed while nothing has been set in stone as of yet, municipalities and local leaders are already having discussions on what next year’s remembrance will look like — considering it will be the 40th anniversary of the crash.
Until then, he urged for locals to think about all veterans during the holiday season.
The Gander Memorial in Hopkinsville can be found at the intersection of 41-A and the Pennyrile Parkway. In Fort Campbell, it can be found on 5661 Screaming Eagle Boulevard.
