He then became an infantryman and loved every minute of it, Gallo said. Nichols joined the Army to be a pilot, but was disqualified for being color-blind, Gallo said. It will be a chance to remember Nichols, who fellow soldiers called the old man because he didn't join the Army until he was 30, Gallo said. ![]() This week, Gallo and her two kids with Nichols, Chip, now 33, and Suerita, now 32, will attend the events on Fort Campbell. ![]() In the years since the crash, Gallo has remarried and had more kids. She has since provided support to Gold Star families from the first Gulf War and later Iraq and Afghanistan. "She told me 3 o'clock in the morning is the hardest time. "I was so thankful for that woman who could talk to me about all the feelings you go through," Gallo said. If hadn't come, I know I wouldn't have made it."Īfter a while, Lucille stopped visiting, but her help inspired Gallo to pay it forward. Lucille helped Gallo through her darkest days, helping her pick a casket and work through mountains of paperwork. "She was the first person I was able to look at and say, 'oh, my, someone who could understand me.'" "Her name was Lucille, I don't know her last name, but she came and she said, 'I'm a widow,'" Gallo said. In the days after her husband's death, Gallo said "an older lady" came to her house. Richard Nichols was one of 248 soldiers killed when their plane crashed after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland on Dec. He asked me, 'do you still hate me?' I said, 'I've never hated you.' It never occurred to me to hate him." "I spoke to one gentleman who was the gentleman who gave up his seat to my husband. "These guys have been carrying this for 30 years. Gallo, who is on the committee for the upcoming commemoration, said she wants to reach out to the surviving soldiers. "We lost 248 soldiers, but we lost 10 times that in opportunities to go on and be productive." "Marriages and jobs didn't work, there was a lot of loss," he said. He and his fellow soldiers who survived cope with the loss in different ways, said Richardson, who is now a financial planner in Jacksonville, Florida. "The great irony of our rotation – we were the eighth iteration – was we didn't lose a single soldier in the Sinai. We were the first of eight to do that, then we lost 248 in that crash," he said. Richardson, who stayed in the Army until 1999 and retired as a major, said the battalion didn't lose any soldiers during the deployment.Ĭanadian aviation officials said the cause of the crash was ice on the wings. Some of our soldiers in the task force haven't." "Survivor's guilt either forces you to do something significant or it drives you into a hellish abyss," he said. The crash and its aftermath were "just horrific," Richardson said. Caudill's son died when a plane carrying 248 soldiers crashed in Gander, Newfoundland in 1985. Philip Caudill, runs her finger across her son's name at the Fort Campbell Gander Memorial, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on Dec. ![]() That doubled the tragedy of the crash because everybody had a family."Īudrey Caudill, mother of Spc. "The first two flights were frontloaded with married guys. "It was always the plan that all of us bachelors would come home last, which seemed like a brilliant idea at the time," Richardson said. The Army had chartered three flights to bring the soldiers home, and because it was so close to Christmas, he and other single soldiers had decided to let the married soldiers go home first. Richardson was still in the Sinai when the plane crashed. ![]() "It is our duty to find these young people and tell them whatever we can of their relative … and pledge to be a part of their adoptive family going forward. "There are probably going to be people in that room who were either not born or under 5 years old in 1985, and they never knew their father, uncle or brother," said Richardson, who was a staff officer in 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry at the time of the crash. It's part of the fabric of this community."įor Ira Richardson, the commemoration is a chance to connect with the families of the fallen. "You can ask any of these members of the community here, and they can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news about this crash. "Gander is almost like 9/11 here," he said. In addition to the veterans and surviving family members, the plane crash profoundly impacted the 101st Airborne and its surrounding communities, and that impact is still felt today, Sylvia said. "Once you're a member of the Strike family, you're always a member of the Strike family," said Sylvia, referring to 2nd BCT's nickname. Sylvia said he hopes the surviving family members and veterans know that the soldiers of today value them and their sacrifice. Organizers expect about 500 veterans and family members to attend.
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