FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- (Nov. 24, 2015) Drops of rain pattered on the roof of the Don F. Pratt Museum Monday afternoon as two retired 101st Airborne Division Soldiers reverently looked at a colorful wall hanging.
The hand-stitched quilt, donated by the Fort Campbell Girl Scouts years ago, memorializes 248 division Soldiers who perished with eight crewmembers in an airplane crash in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, Dec. 12, 1985. The troops were part of a six-month Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission in Sinai, Egypt.
Each fallen Soldier's name is sewn on a vibrant patchwork of blocks in the museum exhibit. "There it is," said Fort Campbell High School JROTC instructor Mitch Sartain, pointing to a royal blue square near the top of the quilt.
Stitched in yellow in the square is the name of Kip Stevens, a second lieutenant who died in the crash. Sartain first saw the quilt about seven years ago when he took his JROTC cadets on a field trip to the post's Pratt Museum to learn more about the division's history.
"It caught me by surprise, the Gander section -- the memorial," he said in a previous interview. "I saw the names and realized what it was. When I saw Kip Stevens' name, I'm just an old Soldier, I teared up and my words chocked. I had my [students] patting me on the back, consoling me."
Standing beside Sartain, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe L. Creek also searched for the name of a Soldier who died that cold day in December 30 years ago.
Moments later, Creek placed his hand over the quilted red square above the fallen Soldier's name -- 1st Sgt. Robert F. McCook.
"[His] home was one that my wife visited [after the crash] … They attended our church," he said. "She said they still had 'Welcome home' signs hanging up for the Soldier's return."
Call of duty
Thirty years ago, then-Capt. Mitch Sartain was attending a conference in Washington, D.C. with other 101st Airborne Division, G-1/Adjutant General staff, when the group was called back to Fort Campbell.
Reports had been confirmed that Fort Campbell Soldiers and crewmembers had perished in an airplane crash at Gander. The service members, assigned or attached to the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Abn. Div., were aboard civilian aircraft Arrow Air Flight 1285 on the last leg of their journey home for the holidays when the plane went down.
"My boss, [Lt.] Col. [John] Fulmer got a call from [Maj.] Gen. [Burton] Patrick, [commanding general for Fort Campbell and the 101st] to return to post to assist with casualty operations," Sartain said. "I felt shock, disbelief that this could happen, sadness for the Soldiers and their Families, especially for this happening right before the holidays … All of us wanted to do the right thing. We volunteered to help."
Back at Fort Campbell, then-Chief Warrant Officer 4 Joe L. Creek served as the chief, Officer and Enlisted Personnel Records for the 101st G1/AG. He was driving to work Dec. 12, 1985, when the music on the radio stopped.
"On the morning of the incident, I was listening to 95.5 on the radio at the intersection of Tennessee and Normandy. They interrupted [the broadcast] and indicated there had been a crash and details would follow. That's all they said," Creek said. "It was the most devastating thing that ever happened that I was involved in in my 30 years in the military."
Soon after hearing the announcement, Creek helped to set up a casualty operations headquarters for the Gander fallen in the Eagle Conference Room on post.
"The workload in my area was to provide our casualty branch with information to contact next of kin. This is where problems arose," Creek said.
Before the Sinai deployment, Soldiers completed forms listing Family members, addresses and phone numbers. This record of emergency data [DD Form 93], along with dental and health records, were kept in the Soldiers' personnel files. Copies of the files were sent with them on the deployment.
In 1985, the use of email and the Internet to store and share information was not a viable option. All original records were stored in paper files on the installation.
During the block leave and throughout the deployment, Soldiers married and divorced -- addresses and phone numbers changed. Unfortunately, Creek said, the original DD Form 93 was not updated.
"That caused a real problem," he said. "In notifying next of kin … it's got to go through military channels. You've got to be sure you've got the right address, the right dependent, you've got the right information.
"As [we sent] out somebody for notification, [the Family] had moved … It was very frustrating. It was something we couldn't control."
Sartain had volunteered to be a notification officer -- to inform Family members their Soldier died in the crash.
All of the fallen Soldiers' records had been brought to the Eagle Conference Room. Sartain recalled that the files arranged in alphabetical order in several stacks on a table.
"The urgency was to get the notification out -- the sooner, the better," he said. "They said pick a file. I just happened to select Lt. Kip Stevens' file."
A Clarksville resident, the young second lieutenant had graduated from Austin Peay State University's ROTC program in the early 1980s. Sartain graduated from the same program two years earlier.
"Out of all those records, I picked someone that I knew," Sartain said.
Ironically, Stevens' mother was a Department of Defense civilian employee working as the G1 secretary.
"She was very kind when I called her," Sartain said. "It was a very sad moment, but she was very pleasant and sweet to me. She was almost consoling me."
Creek said he was involved with casualty reporting in Vietnam, but that "never affected me as it did here," he said. "We're talking about 248 Soldiers … It was just different."
The staff of Soldiers worked around the clock for about 45 days after the crash assisting Family members, sorting through records and making phone calls for verification.
"Every time you turned around there was a request from somebody. A lot of our time was spent manually screening these records getting this information," Creek said.
"We went days with only an hour or hour-and-a-half sleep. It was hard to go to sleep. We were tired. We were mentally exhausted. We had something on our mind. We couldn't forget it. We had to do all we could for those Families."
Creek said his understanding wife and prayer helped him through the long days and nights on duty helping the Families of the fallen.
"Anytime you get a casualty report in, it's more than a piece of paper to me. It's a life. It's a Family," he said. "I would never have gotten through it without the Lord's help. I prayed for myself as well as the Families."
"It was overwhelming to think of how many [were lost]," Sartain said.
"As the weeks went by I felt proud to be a part of the Army team and military community that came together to assist our fallen Soldiers' Families."
After Gander
About five years after Gander, Sartain was reassigned to Germany. As the U.S. was preparing for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the Army sought his expertise based on his experience with the Fort Campbell tragedy. He was assigned to the 21st Theater Support Command to help train Soldiers to be casualty assistance officers.
"I wouldn't just take for granted that they could do it. Nobody's cut out for it, but you find out who can and who can't -- who gets too nervous and emotional, too," he said.
"You pick your best. It's an honor to represent the United States Army and to work with the Families in their time of need."
About 16 years later, in 2006, Sartain retired as a colonel after 27 years of service. Soon after, he began teaching Fort Campbell students in the high school's JROTC program.
Just four years after Gander, Creek retired in 1989 from the Army. He transitioned from military service to public service. He now serves as a Montgomery County Commissioner and chaplain.
"In the past 25 years I've married 21,684 couples. I would say 80 percent probably military," he said.
Lessons learned
Looking back three decades, Creek and Sartain said they learned valuable lessons from their duties after the Gander tragedy.
Both agree that not having digital records made their work more difficult. They noted that it is critical that Soldiers update their DD Form 93s, especially before and during a deployment.
"The Soldiers just don't realize just how important that is until an emergency comes up," Creek said.
Sartain emphasized the importance of screening officers for notification and casualty assistance duties. "It's the people you choose," that make the difference, he said.
Vigilance, Sartain added, is key for our military as Soldiers continue to deploy overseas.
"This tragic event also confirmed for me the seriousness and potential dangers of our profession during deployment to the combat zone and redeployment from the combat zone, whether by ground convoy, air or sea transportation," Sartain said.
Although there were difficulties with records and notifications, Creek and Sartain praised the G1/AG Soldiers they worked with in the Eagle Conference Room.
"It was very important to have those staff officers, NCOs and Department of the Army civilians that were trusted to relay reliable information. That was key …," Sartain added. "I think we did well with the challenge we were given to face."
"Things weren't perfect," Creek said. "We had never been confronted with anything close to this [magnitude]. I think we did the best we could.
"I think we are better prepared because of lessons learned [then]. It was an education."
30 years later
This December marks the 30th anniversary of the plane crash at Gander. Both Creek and Sartain plan to attend this year's memorial ceremony. The solemn observance is slated for 10 a.m. Dec. 12 at Fort Campbell's Task Force 3-502nd Memorial Tree Park, located between Normandy and Screaming Eagle boulevards.
At the annual observance, troops traditionally place a wreath at the stone memorial at the edge of Wickham Avenue to honor the 248 fallen brothers in arms.
"It's my prayer that nothing like this ever happens again," Creek said.
Editor's Note: This article is the second in a series leading up to the 30th anniversary of the Gander tragedy in December.
Related Links:
Former Soldiers, Courier journalists remember Gander victim
Family remembers Sgt. Travis as 'giving person'
In memoriam: Families, friends, veterans gather to honor Gander fallen
Journey of healing: Anniversary of tragedy brings Soldiers, Families solace
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