Still no marker at Flight 191 crash site

As Memorial Day again approaches, metropolitan Chicago will mark once more the anniversary of the deadliest single airline crash (barring 9/11 terrorism) in our nation’s aviation history.

On the afternoon of Friday, May 25, 1979, American Flight 191 crashed with the loss of all onboard shortly after takeoff from O’Hare International Airport. Passengers and crew totaled 271 souls, and there would be two more casualties on the ground. Miraculously the loss of life that day was not more.

And yet, despite the passage of 32 years, there still is no permanent memorial, marker, plaque or even roadside cross at the crash location to remember or commemorate the tragedy. The impact site in Des Plaines is on land used for training Chicago police dogs. Daily, countless motorists drive past on busy Touhy Avenue, mostly unaware of the significance of this hallowed spot.

Why hasn’t some local or regional government, aviation agency or corporation, or local historical society honored the memory of that brave crew and ordinary citizens who perished that day?

Richard T. Crowe

Oak Lawn