This morning I have been watching "We are Marshall"! I've seen the movie a dozen times..but everytime I have seen it, I still get chills and emotional. I couldn't even begin to understand what impact that made on the community, the University, and football program at Marshall. That tragedy happened in 1970 on a trip to play East Carolina, I believe...and I was born in 1971. Do any of you Marshall Fans remember that day? Just wanted to hear from some of you about that time, if you wanted to share.

I was born in 1985 so I can't really share anything personally, but both of my parents were freshmen at Marshall in 1970.

One of the crazier stories not mentioned in the movie is that Ed Carter, a player on the 1970 team, only missed the flight because he was back home in Texas for his father's funeral the week before the ECU game. His original plan was to rejoin the team for that game, but his mother talked him into staying in Texas for another week because she had a dream that the plane would crash.

I have a cousin that worked with Ruffin for awhile. He was in distribution with Gannett. They both worked at the Clarion ledger in Jackson ms. My cousin really liked ruffin.

I love everything about Marshall's history and culture. Their fans are a bit silly (we all have em') but I wouldn't want to be with out them.

(03-11-2016 01:54 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  I love everything about Marshall's history and culture. Their fans are a bit silly (we all have em') but I wouldn't want to be with out them.

End of the day we all love ours schools and the ones we get to know through our conference. Sometimes it isn't enough to keep us together but $$$ ruins most things.

Would have to say the biggest, most heated rivalry in CUSA as it stands is WKU-MTSU. Lots of history and lots of smack. But even when all that is going on you can still hear the undertones of respect. Our brothers may fight against each other, but nobody else better mess with us.

I was not alive at the time of the accident, but I still feel a strong connection to this. We learn/teach these things in our schools. Everyone has an older relative that still shares stories about the crash. My great uncle lived within a mile of the crash at the time. He used to tell us about that night.

This is one of the main reasons Marshall fans have a lot of pride in our school/community.

I'm from Owensboro, KY which is about 35 miles from Evansville, Indiana. Something similar occurred at the University of Evansville in 1977. A plane crash killed all members of the 1977 basketball team except one player who was not on the flight. Sadly, he was killed in a car accident two weeks later, caused by a drunk driver. The impact on the University of Evansville and the community was deep. Although I did not know anyone involved with the University at that time, I've known people who were and the impact is still there. Makes me definitely appreciate the importance Marshall places on remembrance.

Also, for the connection to CUSA, Evansville was flying to Nashville to play MTSU in a basketball game.

I've got no connection to Marshall but I've after watching the movie I've always said I wanted to go there to see a Marshall-USM game and tour the crash site and grave site. And from reading about other's tailgate experiences I want to make sure I partake in that as well. Hopefully one year it will happen for me

Born and raised in IL and had no knowledge of anything Marshall growing up minus knowing of their football team being great. One of the reasons I chose Marshall. Once getting there and learning the story you can't help but see its impact each and every year whether it was at the fountain ceremony or talking with Huntington locals or whatever the situation it's hard to not know and learn the story. My wife's family is from Huntington and the Huntington area and I've heard many stories from them and people they know that either lost parents or other relatives. I could share some stories I've heard but some of them may be private stories and dont want to mess up the stories. Let's just say like the Kevin Bacon movie game you can connect many residents to the crash within a few steps.

When the movie was made it was an awesome time. Hard to believe this Decemeber will have been 10 years since it came out. I think they did the story justice and while it is Hollywood, McG the director, Mathew McHonehey (I butchered his last name), and the rest of the cast were VERY RESPECTFUL of Huntington, it's residents, and the story.

Sometimes I feel that "we" dwell on the crash a little too much but that's only because I'm not from here. In those moments, I take a step back though and think of all those connected. It was the team, staff, and MANY residents plus the plane crew. Thousands of lives were changed in an instant and the the story that followed, many times called Ashes to Glory, only intensified this event in our past. While I think the team dying would of had a lasting impact, the fact that there were so many Husbands and wives and "big Whigs" on the flight that it made it all the more impactful for the community as a whole. I'm just glad Marshall chose to fight for the team to remain rather than folding it. The tradition of the Fountain Ceremony, the football run up 20th street to the cemetery, the movie, and all the other things that are associated with it are a time to remember but also a time to celebrate what came from that and it's has been in fact glorious.

I was 8 years old when it happened. I remember hearing sirens all over town. Then WSAZ interrupted the show on tv and said there had been a crash at Tri State Airport and early reports were that it was the Marshall plane. My father got this terrible look on his face. My mothers doctor was Ray Hagley who died on the crash.

The movie was good but the portrayal of Jack Lengyel was a stretch.

Its a passionate fan base who has a bit of chip on our shoulder due to being in WV, getting crapped on by the pro WV state government and being a small public school in Appalachia. We probably get more out of our sources than many schools - we're forced to.

I too enjoy our CUSA brethren.

If you like the movie and have the time, these youtube videos are worth watching on the making of the movie.

Marshall Thundering Herd - Making of We Are Marshall Part 1

Marshall Thundering Herd - Making of We Are Marshall Part 2

Marshall Thundering Herd - Making of We Are Marshall Part 3

Marshall Thundering Herd - Making of We Are Marshall Part 4

I was also born after the crash (1974), but my dad was a student at Marshall when it happened. He's shared stories about hearing sirens everywhere all at once, and it occurred to him at the time that the timing was about right for the plane's return, as he'd listened to the game on the radio earlier in the day. One of the things that he felt was most striking was the number of funerals. There were multiples a day. I think that's one of the powerful images captured in the movie, when one funeral procession has to stop and wait for another to pass.
Even now, nearly 50 years later, its impact is still felt deeply throughout the community. It made this community poorer, and at the same time, made it richer and more valuable.

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I was a student at Marshall in November, 1970, living in my fraternity house (KA). This is still (decades later) a raw emotional memory for me, and I can understand some of the comments I've heard over the years as to why it still matters. I really can't answer that except to say that it does.

I was at the old El Gato having a beer with friends, when I heard the first unbelievable comments. I ran back to the fraternity house where the awful confirmation was on TV, and a lot of the rest of the next several days was a tremendous blur. We got through these darkest of dark day by holding on to each other, coming together, and fighting -- together -- for a proper memory of our football team in returning a team the following fall rather than giving up. Not giving up and winning for the 75 on the plane matters to us...really matters.

I don't really want to say much more than that, except to close by honoring my good friend, South Hall dorm mate, and fraternity brother, linebacker Roger Childers who was on the plane. I had attended his wedding before the crash, and nothing can state how tough it was to go back to the same church to his funeral a short time later. It still hurts...I still miss all of the people I knew and those that I didn't. It really isn't thing more than that, and yet, it is much more than that.

(03-11-2016 09:56 PM)Cnelson203 Wrote:  I was a student at Marshall in November, 1970, living in my fraternity house (KA). This is still (decades later) a raw emotional memory for me, and I can understand some of the comments I've heard over the years as to why it still matters. I really can't answer that except to say that it does.

I was at the old El Gato having a beer with friends, when I heard the first unbelievable comments. I ran back to the fraternity house where the awful confirmation was on TV, and a lot of the rest of the next several days was a tremendous blur. We got through these darkest of dark day by holding on to each other, coming together, and fighting -- together -- for a proper memory of our football team in returning a team the following fall rather than giving up. Not giving up and winning for the 75 on the plane matters to us...really matters.

I don't really want to say much more than that, except to close by honoring my good friend, South Hall dorm mate, and fraternity brother, linebacker Roger Childers who was on the plane. I had attended his wedding before the crash, and nothing can state how tough it was to go back to the same church to his funeral a short time later. It still hurts...I still miss all of the people I knew and those that I didn't. It really isn't thing more than that, and yet, it is much more than that.

Thanks for sharing that. The Herd still plays for the 75 and always will be. Losing your fraternity brother and friend had to be tough. When I watch the movie in the future, I will understand even more the personal loss of so many.

I was born in 1973 and missed the tragedy thank God.. But my mother graduated from Marshall in 1968.. We relocated from Parkersburg in 1978 and my mom taught at St Paul's pre-school in Huntington.. There she met the daughter of Gene Morehouse.. The Marshall radio personality then..who lost his life in the crash...and they became wonderful friends... I asked Genes daughter what she thought of both Ashes to Glory ...this is a must see documentary if you are interested in the Marshall story...and We are...Marshall... And she said they were done very well...

I also have spoken with Red Dawson, the assistant coach... And Ernie Salvatore... The sports writer for Marshall at the time... God rest his soul.. And Jack Hardin... The reporter at the scene... I was a Kenova Police officer and an airport police officer and had access to many people who were on scene... I have been there..at the site... The here are many untold stories...

Thank you for your interest... This was a tragedy that truly did pierce a city..and cut it to the bone... The fact that we fielded a team was nothing short of miraculous.... Nate Ruffin was an outstanding human being... I talked with him also..

The thing with Marshall is that being a part of the Herd is being in a family.. Not to disparage any other CUSA program... we adopt our players as sons and daughters of Marshall... As I'm sure other CUSA schools do...

Sorry for blathering...

My Mom was a junior/senior at the time of the crash. She still has a copy of the student newspaper ("The Parthenon") and a copy of a local newspaper reflecting the sad tragedy of Nov. 14, 1970. I was born almost two years later to the day, so my knowledge and understanding is filtered through the prism of many others that experienced that reality.

As Mom has recounted, 1970 was a tumultuous year in Huntington. Although Huntington was a more racially (and relatively more accepting) area of WV, Marshall Univ. served a broad region of southern WV that has an odd mix of cultures and sub-cultures. A consequence of that is that racial tensions were on edge throughout that year. If I recall her recollections correctly, there was an event earlier that week which raised the tensions higher. In ways that are hard to reconcile with human behavior, the racial tensions seemed to calm -- at least in part to the loss of human life suffered by everyone in the community: white and black; wealthy, middle-class, and poor; white-collar and blue-collar.

And, what folks tend to overlook is that the tragedy rippled through a quarter of the US states: the crash claimed the lives of players from 11 different states (NY, NJ, OH, VA, WV, KY, NC, SC, AL, FL, TX), and at least 25 different communities/towns, not to mention the coaches from different areas, and the local community supporters. If a single stone creates a resonance in a small body of water, think of the 75 ripples tearing through the lives and communities where these folks were raised and/or lived. An immeasurable impact.

I personally struggle (as I think the MU community does) with balancing honor and remembrance vs. wallowing in the memory of those that died. Most of us (alumni and/or supporters) are mostly well-intended in these efforts, but sometimes it (may) go a bit too far. It is an ever-changing and delicate balance, and impossible to strike the right chord because so many families and friends were impacted. Personally, I hope that future television broadcasts focus a little less on the crash and "the story" not because I'm not proud of the leaders and the supporters that made the difficult and often heart-wrenching decision to carry on despite the constant reminders of what and who was lost, but because I wouldn't want the survivors to have that raw nerve exposed over and over. But that is my personal feeling - and I wouldn't dare impute my feelings or demand others adopt my attitude(s). Just as I cannot truly understand those that have suffered tragedy, like the OKC bombing, 9/11, Boston Marathon, etc., I similarly cannot fathom the pain from what happened in 1970. Sympathy I can muster; empathy - too difficult to imagine.

FWIW. One Herd fan's perspective.

Thanks to everyone who shared stories here. Marshall is an opponent I love to hate, but it's a healthy, rivals kind of hate. I have total respect for the school and it's people, at least until you beat us again. God bless Marshall.

I'm loathe to even mention anything about the crash. I was born in '69, my father knew most of the non-athletes on that plane. I grew up watching the Herd starting in around '77 and they won 2 games of 13. 78', one game. And so it went. None of those wins were in conference play. My father, being a fanatic and dragging me and my sister and brother, NEVER, EVER mentioned the crash. Not many folks did. Matter of fact, I didn't even know of the crash till I was 13, and that was by a Babe Ruth baseball coach who wouldn't elaborate on it after he let it slip, and told our team to "ask our parents" about it. Teachers in my schools never spoke of it, parents didn't talk of it to their kids(or all of us kids would've known about it), nothing... It hurt the community that much. And an entire generation of kids that grew up in my time-line learned of it only after MU started winning in football. Only then, after 16+yrs. of ache could they even tell us of what happened that fateful day and start to move past it. I know a lot of folks don't understand this but this is as close as I can relay what it was growing up in this atmosphere. So many community leaders, doctors, reporters, TV folks were lost that the community were decimated. So yes, some of our fans might be a little bit(or a lot) overboard in their defense of MU, especially in FB, but it comes w/ the territory.

I was a student at the time of the crash. I had five fraternity brothers on the plane and my family knew most of the boosters on the plane. I have never watched the movie, so I can't comment on that. Unless you were there at the time of the crash, you have no idea of sadness and hurt we suffered. I remember going to countless funerals and that sadness that hung over campus and the city.

When I think about that time, I talk to a friend who lost both of her parents on the plane. She is such a positive person and an inspiration to me. You can't live in the past, but you can remember the it.

(03-12-2016 12:10 AM)Olen Wrote:  As Mom has recounted, 1970 was a tumultuous year in Huntington. Although Huntington was a more racially (and relatively more accepting) area of WV, Marshall Univ. served a broad region of southern WV that has an odd mix of cultures and sub-cultures. A consequence of that is that racial tensions were on edge throughout that year. If I recall her recollections correctly, there was an event earlier that week which raised the tensions higher. In ways that are hard to reconcile with human behavior, the racial tensions seemed to calm -- at least in part to the loss of human life suffered by everyone in the community: white and black; wealthy, middle-class, and poor; white-collar and blue-collar.

I can confirm this story. It was a football game between KA and Black United Students on Friday afternoon that ended with a brawl with at least one man (I won't name him for privacy's sake) who ended up in the hospital stabbed.) Tensions were sky high until Saturday night when...