family
28
Mar 15
A day in Georgia
Today we were at the New Hope memorial for Southern 242 – Georgia’s largest aviation disaster.
The Southern 242 committee just unveiled their upcoming memorial sculpture.
Around the pedestal, the committee says, will be the names of the 72 fatalities and 22 survivors of the 1977 crash.
A terrible storm, bad radar brought on by the storm, a bad forecast, complete systems failure on the plane and human error on the ground led to the crash. The pilots, former military aviators, then steering a glider, desperately attempted the unprecedented: landing a DC9 on a country road. Witnesses on the ground say Capt. William McKenzie and co-pilot Lyman Keele, with 23,000 flight hours between them, put their front wheel on the center line of the two-lane road. But for power poles. The wings hit poles, snapped trees and spun the plane out of control.
When the plane came to rest, emergency workers couldn’t get to the site for the debris. Survivors were carried through that house, into the backyard, through the woods and to a parallel road. Everyone that made it into that house and out the back door survived.
At the memorial, they prayed and sang and rang bells for the dead. Over the years it has turned into a reunion. I wrote about all of this a few years ago.
We had a late lunch here, a nearby north Georgia barbecue joint that had good brisket.
And then in walked this guy:
Isn’t that a great photo?
5
Mar 15
Happy birthday, mom
If you drew it up, you’d want a mom to be the best person and mother she can possibly be, and then work ridiculously hard to be just a little bit better still. Moms give us all invaluable lessons and impossible standards. Good thing, too.
And many more … Especially since I am now, somehow, outpacing you in the birthday department.
One day I’m going to ask why I’m looking the wrong direction in this picture.
12
Jan 15
70th anniv – My great-grandfather’s war
Tonice’s war was over. He was wounded on Jan. 9. His unit, the 137th, where he was a combat medic, had come off the line just outside of Bastogne on the 11th. The fighting continued for others, but the Germans were done.
So, to some up, after Villers-la-Bonne-Eau:
As a medic, Tonice was awarded the purple heart, Europe-Africa-Middle East Medal with bronze star device, the good conduct medal, the American campaign medal and the WWII victory medal.
The 137th came into Normandy a few weeks after D-Day, fought their way through the old Maginot Line, faced down the 1st SS Panzer Division at Villers. They’d fight in Holland and then patrol Yalta opposite the Russians. They would form the honor guard for President Harry Truman as he stopped over in Brussels on his trip to Potsdam.
They returned to the U.S.on Aug. 31, 1945. The fabled 137th “Sante Fe” was deactivated on Dec. 7, 1945 having earned a reputation for stolidity and tenacity.
Just like Tonice.
Please scroll around and click on the pins to catch up or read ahead.
This information is derived from the unit history, found here and here and from this unit overview. These markers are rough estimates, meant only to be illustrative. Any errors are mine alone.
11
Jan 15
70th anniv – My great-grandfather’s war
The last day of our tracking the 137th Infantry Regiment’s movements through Europe 70 years ago during the coldest winter anyone could recall. The Battle of the Bulge had just begun to wind down. My great-grandfather Tonice, a combat medic in the 137th had been wounded on the 9th. Since we don’t know when he was evacuated, I looked through two more days, just to see what would happen next. The 137th finally came off the line today, they’d finally get some rest.
So, then, for Jan. 11:
On one of its coldest days the 137th attacked again, suffering heavy casualties, the majority being from the 2nd Battalion in taking the town of Lutremange (on the outskirts of Bastogne).
Replaced by units on both sides, the 137th went into reserve duty for a week before returning to Metz.
Feel free to click around in the other thumbnails to read about other days.
This information is derived from the unit history, found here and here and from this unit overview. He never talked about the war and his quiet choice means that these markers are rough estimates, meant only to be illustrative. Any errors are mine alone.
