1985 Gander Air Crash Memorial Program 101st Airborne 3/502 248 Soldiers

ORIGINAL 1985 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION MEMORIAL CEREMONY PROGRAM. TASK FORCE 3/502 – DECEMBER 20, 1985. REMEMBERING THE 248 AMERICAN SOLDIERS LOST IN THE GANDER AIR DISASTER. An important original U. Army memorial ceremony program dated December 20, 1985, honoring the 248 American soldiers who lost their lives in the Arrow Air Flight 1285 disaster at Gander, Newfoundland, on December 12, 1985. The front cover reads. TASK FORCE 3/502 DIVISION MEMORIAL CEREMONY 20 December 1985. It features the distinctive Screaming Eagle insignia of the 101st Airborne Division. On December 12, 1985, Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashed shortly after takeoff from Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada. The aircraft was carrying American soldiers home following a six-month peacekeeping deployment with the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai Peninsula. All 248 American soldiers aboard, along with eight civilian crew members, lost their lives. The soldiers were assigned or attached to Task Force 3-502, associated with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The tragedy devastated military families and communities across the United States and remains one of the most consequential peacetime disasters in American military history. THE DECEMBER 20, 1985 MEMORIAL CEREMONY. This original program documents the solemn military ceremony conducted eight days after the disaster. Its printed order of events includes. Invocation. Battle Hymn of the Republic. Scripture Reading. National Anthem. Address by the 101st Commanding General. Address by Secretary of the Army John O. Address by Army Chief of Staff General John A. Screaming Eagles. God Bless America. Benediction. Firing Party. Taps. Air Force Overflight. Retirement of Colors. A REMARKABLE 248-ROUND CANNON SALUTE. One of the most historically significant details appears inside the program. It states that Division Artillery would fire 248 cannon rounds, one each minute, beginning at 0952 and concluding at 1400. Each round honored one of the 248 fallen soldiers. The program also states that a roll call of the soldiers would be read as the rounds were fired. This makes the booklet a direct documentary record of how the 101st Airborne Division commemorated its fallen soldiers in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. The ceremony program identifies. Major General Burton D. Patrick – 101st Airborne Division Commanding General. Secretary of the Army. United States Army Chief of Staff. The booklet includes the ceremony’s order of events and printed selections from the Battle Hymn of the Republic, National Anthem, Screaming Eagles, and God Bless America. A separate page features Isaiah 40:28-31, a passage emphasizing strength, endurance, and hope. COLLECTOR AND HISTORICAL INTEREST. This original 1985 program is particularly relevant to collectors and researchers interested in. 101st Airborne Division history. 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. Task Force 3/502. Arrow Air Flight 1285. Gander, Newfoundland, 1985. Cold War American military history. Sinai peacekeeping operations. Original military memorial programs. Fort Campbell, Kentucky. U. Army historical documents and ephemera. This program is dated December 20, 1985. It documents a separate ceremony from the December 16 memorial service attended by President Ronald Reagan. Please see all photographs for condition. An evocative surviving document commemorating 248 American soldiers who lost their lives while returning home from peacekeeping service. You will receive the exact program shown in the photographs. From Echoes of WWII – preserving American military history and historical memorabilia for future generations.