Flight 191 victims deserve a marker

To many longtime residents of the suburbs, especially those living closest to O'Hare International Airport, the memories of what happened 30 years ago today still haunt.

And to the families of the 271 passengers and crew aboard American Airlines Flight 191 and two more victims on the ground, today's anniversary is a reminder of that awful day in 1979 when the plane crashed on takeoff in a field near the airport between Des Plaines and Elk Grove Village.

But as Daily Herald staff writer Ted Cox wrote last week, no memorial marker exists to commemorate the lives lost in the worst aviation accident on U.S. soil. We think that should change. Just read the comments from family members Cox spoke to or read the comments on dailyherald.com from suburban residents who remember that day all too well.

"There should be recognition that so many people lost their lives in that one spot," said Kim Jockl of Chicago, whose parents, Bill and Corrinne Borchers of Chicago, died in the crash.

"I think that would be great," said Joy Holmes, who also lost her parents in the crash.

Holmes said there is a plaque at Los Angeles International Airport for the passengers who never arrived that day. That's simply not good enough, especially here, especially with the memories still so fresh.

"I remember this event, even though I was only 9," said dailyherald.com commenter 5forfighting. "That huge black cloud and the sirens that never stopped... if we can remember this, what must it be like for the families??"

"It was a sad day and one I'll never forget as long as I live," said Rob Cooper, another dailyherald.com commenter who described arriving on the scene just after the crash when he was 19. "I always pray for the people who perished on that Friday before the Memorial Day weekend."

"I'm getting chills reading all these recollections... we were so rattled by this event that even as we've grown away from it, the effect on us surfaces immediately," said Jenika, one more story commenter. "A suitable memorial is necessary. We all died in some way that day. We all are healing."

As our series of stories this weekend shows, those victims' deaths resulted in greater airplane safety for all of us who fly today. And while there is no clear evidence the pilots were able to actually steer that plane into a field instead of into the nearby mobile homes or the field of Amoco oil fuel tanks also nearby, the fact remains that the tragedy could have been much worse on the ground.

So on this Memorial Day, as we rightfully honor and remember all the veterans who have died for our country over the years, we also remember the victims of Flight 191. It's high time a permanent marker be put in place - after consultation with the families as to the location - to remember them as well.