HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Friends, family members and Marshall University football players were among those who placed white roses at the base of the Memorial Fountain on the Huntington campus Tuesday to remember the 75 victims of the 1970 Marshall plane crash.
As is tradition, the fountain was turned off as part of the ceremony and the roses were placed as the names of all 75 victims were read.
Marshall Student Body Vice President Emily Kinner told the crowd it is crucial that Nov. 14, 1970 never be forgotten.
“I’m humbled to be honoring a legacy of determination, success, the 75 and our wonderful university,” Kinner told the crowd.
Her remarks followed those of Fisher Cross whose grandparents, Herbert Dickerson Proctor and Josephine Courtney Phillips Proctor, were killed in the crash. Cross’ mother, Courtney Proctor Cross was six-years-old when her parents died.
Organizers said Cross was the first person born post-tragedy to speak at the Fountain Ceremony, which marked its 47th year Tuesday.
“This speech gives me the opportunity to show that they didn’t just leave blank legacies,” Cross, a sports management senior, said before the ceremony. “These 75 families are affected top to bottom—parents, children and grandchildren. With each extended legacy, in my case my grandparents’, there’s an important task for each of us to keep the memory of those lost living on through each generation.”
The plane crashed on approach to Tri-State Airport as the Herd and supporters were returning home following a game with East Carolina.
Kinner led the crowd in the “We Are Marshall” cheer to end the ceremony.