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U.S. AIRMEN HONORED AT ARMENIA CRASH SITE
Armenialiberty.org
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24316252.html
Sept 2 2011
A U.S. Air Force general thanked residents of a village in
western Armenia on Friday for honoring the 17-member crew of a
U.S. reconnaissance plane that was shot down near Sasnashen by Soviet
fighter jets 53 years ago.
Major General Mark Zamzow, deputy commander of an Air Force base
stationed in Germany, marked the crash anniversary together with
Armenia~Rs First Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan and dozens of
Sasnashen villagers.
The C-130 Hercules aircraft was downed while flying a reconnaissance
mission near Soviet Armenia~Rs border on September 2, 1958. According
to the U.S. military, it was attacked by MiG jets after straying into
Soviet airspace. All 17 crewmen on board the plane were killed.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Sasnashen residents have
for decades commemorated this date as they believe the crew maneuvered
the aircraft to avoid the village and thus saved locals~R lives. They
erected a memorial at the nearby crash site in September 1993, less
than two years after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
U.S. - The gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery of the 17-member
crew of a U.S. reconnaissance plane that was shot down over Soviet
Armenia on September 2, 1958.
~SI was deeply touched when I heard that the citizens of Sasnashen
still remember this event, and have conducted a memorial remembrance
every year since 1958 to commemorate the aircrew that died that day,~T
an embassy statement quoted Zamzow as saying at the commemoration
ceremony.
~SThe manner in which you conduct this ceremony, and the way in which
you maintain this memorial, speaks volumes for your strength as a
community,~T he told the villagers.
Zamzow also paid tribute to the U.S. airmen~Rs ~Sfinal act of
bravery,~T saying that they spared civilian lives as the C-130 crashed
to the ground.
The Soviet Union returned the partial remains of six of the crewmen
later in 1958. It was not until 1993 that a U.S. Army team went to the
site of the crash and recovered the rest of the remains, including
more than 2,000 bone and tooth fragments, life support equipment,
personal effects and aircraft wreckage.
The remains were interred in a single grave in the Arlington National
Cemetery in 1998.
More personal effects of the dead servicemen were returned to U.S.
officials during Friday~Rs commemoration. Some of their relatives
also attended it.
In what appears to be a gesture of gratitude, the U.S. Department of
Defense has financed infrastructure upgrades in and around Sasnashen
in recent years. Zamzow inaugurated on Friday a newly renovated
kindergarten in the village and a policlinic in the nearby town
of Talin.
From: Baghdasarian
Armenialiberty.org
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24316252.html
Sept 2 2011
A U.S. Air Force general thanked residents of a village in
western Armenia on Friday for honoring the 17-member crew of a
U.S. reconnaissance plane that was shot down near Sasnashen by Soviet
fighter jets 53 years ago.
Major General Mark Zamzow, deputy commander of an Air Force base
stationed in Germany, marked the crash anniversary together with
Armenia~Rs First Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan and dozens of
Sasnashen villagers.
The C-130 Hercules aircraft was downed while flying a reconnaissance
mission near Soviet Armenia~Rs border on September 2, 1958. According
to the U.S. military, it was attacked by MiG jets after straying into
Soviet airspace. All 17 crewmen on board the plane were killed.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Sasnashen residents have
for decades commemorated this date as they believe the crew maneuvered
the aircraft to avoid the village and thus saved locals~R lives. They
erected a memorial at the nearby crash site in September 1993, less
than two years after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
U.S. - The gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery of the 17-member
crew of a U.S. reconnaissance plane that was shot down over Soviet
Armenia on September 2, 1958.
~SI was deeply touched when I heard that the citizens of Sasnashen
still remember this event, and have conducted a memorial remembrance
every year since 1958 to commemorate the aircrew that died that day,~T
an embassy statement quoted Zamzow as saying at the commemoration
ceremony.
~SThe manner in which you conduct this ceremony, and the way in which
you maintain this memorial, speaks volumes for your strength as a
community,~T he told the villagers.
Zamzow also paid tribute to the U.S. airmen~Rs ~Sfinal act of
bravery,~T saying that they spared civilian lives as the C-130 crashed
to the ground.
The Soviet Union returned the partial remains of six of the crewmen
later in 1958. It was not until 1993 that a U.S. Army team went to the
site of the crash and recovered the rest of the remains, including
more than 2,000 bone and tooth fragments, life support equipment,
personal effects and aircraft wreckage.
The remains were interred in a single grave in the Arlington National
Cemetery in 1998.
More personal effects of the dead servicemen were returned to U.S.
officials during Friday~Rs commemoration. Some of their relatives
also attended it.
In what appears to be a gesture of gratitude, the U.S. Department of
Defense has financed infrastructure upgrades in and around Sasnashen
in recent years. Zamzow inaugurated on Friday a newly renovated
kindergarten in the village and a policlinic in the nearby town
of Talin.
From: Baghdasarian