Memorial for 1979 O’Hare crash unveiled to honor 273 victims
Abdon M. Pallasch Political Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com October 15, 2011 5:32PM
Photographs line the wall during the dedication of a memorial to the 274 victims of the crash of American Airlines flight 191, Saturday, October 15, 2011 in Des Plaines. | Jean Lachat~Sun-Times
Updated: October 15, 2011 8:47PM
Thirty-two years after 273 people were killed in the worst commercial air crash in U.S. history, friends and loved ones of those who died on American Airlines Flight 191 got their memorial Saturday.
Sons, daughters and grandchildren brought sheets of paper to rub relief images of the 273 names inscribed on bricks in a Des Plaines park near the site of the crash on May 25, 1979.
It was the dogged efforts of a class of 6th-graders at Decatur Classical Elementary School in Chicago that made it happen.
Looking for a citizenship project to enter into the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s competition, they heard their assistant principal, Kimberly Jockl, talk about losing her parents in the crash and they seized upon a memorial.
They were undeterred when American Airlines sent them a letter encouraging them to “let it go.”
Eventually, they won the competition and convinced American Airlines to chip in $20,000 for the memorial.
“I think that society should take note of the relentless nature of 6th graders, and learn from them,” said attorney Tom Demetrio, who chaired the foundation and represented 30 of the families of those killed in the crash.
Many of the students, now 13 years old, spoke Saturday, as did U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan and State Sen. Dan Kotowski, (D-Park Ridge). Emergency personnel who responded to the accident 32 years ago were also on hand.
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