Most people know that I went to school at Marshall and have been closely involved with the athletic program for many years.
Over the years, I occasionally get comments like, "Isn't it time for Marshall to stop talking about the plane crash?" Or "When is Marshall going to let go of the plane crash?" Or "After all these years, isn't it time for Marshall to stop hanging on to the plane crash?"
One thing I have learned, and every student learns when they go to Marshall, is this: We don't hang on to the plane crash at Marshall. In fact, the opposite is true. The crash hangs on to us. The crash is the tie that binds Marshall people together.
When you talk to a Marshall student even today, it does not take long for you to feel the campus bond created by the crash. It permeates your being.
It's the reason why Chad Pennington remembers Nov. 14 and why at last year's memorial service, a young man like Rakeem Cato places a flower at the memorial fountain with a purposeful look on his face and a tear In his eye.
Marshall is a unique and special place. Marshall people have a unique bond. If you did not go to school there, or haven't worked there, you can't understand that.
Here's hoping we never forget the Marshall plane crash and the time around Nov. 14, 1970. I know I never will.
n When I think of the crash, I often think of the many men from our state who toiled and labored in the 1970s to rebuild the program. They did not win many games, but they had to go through the tough times to lay the foundation for the winning championship times.
I can't name them all, but I think of Ed and Mike Hamrick from Herbert Hoover, Bill and Dave Forbes from New Martinsviile, the Woodrum brothers from Winfield, Carl Lee from South Charleston, Fuzzy Filliez from New Martinsville, Chuck Wright from Stonewall, Tom Bossie from Charleston Catholic, Steve Morton and Rex Repass from Charleston High, Jesse Smith from Barrackville, Allen Meadows from Madison, Steve Cooper from Winfield, Lanny Steed from East Bank and many, many others.
I lived in the dorm with most of these men and they are the finest people I have ever known.
Reach Frank Giardina at flg16@hotmail.com.