Hopkinsville’s annual memorial service in memory of 248 Fort Campbell soldiers and eight crew member who died in the Dec. 12, 1985, air crash at Gander, Newfoundland, will be at noon Thursday at Gander Memorial Park.
On the day of the crash, the soldiers were on a chartered flight taking them back to Fort Campbell following a six-month peacekeeping assignment at the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. After a stop at Gander International Airport, the Arrow Air jet departed for the final leg of the flight. A short distance from the end of the runway, the jet lost altitude and crashed into a forest at the edge of Gander Lake. There were no survivors.
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Many of the soldiers were carrying toys and other gifts they bought in the Gander gift shop for their families. They were anticipating Christmas celebrations.
Every year on Dec. 12, both Hopkinsville and Fort Campbell conduct a memorial service.
The Christian County Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee organizes the Hopkinsville service in the park on Fort Campbell Boulevard at Pennyrile Parkway.
The focal point of the 16-acre park is the Peacekeeper monument sculpted by Hopkinsville artist Steve Shields, who also created a monument for the crash site at Gander.
