50 years ago today, Sabena Flight 548 crashed in Brussels, Belgium. On board the plane were all the members of the 1961 US Skating Team. The team was on its way to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
The crash killed all 18 members of the team, 16 friends, family and coaches and 38 others on that flight. It’s hard to understand the void the crash caused on the families left behind. Wives were left without a husband. Husbands were left without wives. Children were left without fathers or mothers. Entire families were destroyed.
As a result of the crash, some families left the world of skating, never to look back. For the majority of those left behind, it’s taken them 50 years to heal.
This past January at the 2011 US Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, NC, the 1961 team was honored by being the only inductees into the 2011 US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame presented each family with a bowl honoring their loved ones. The ceremony brought together as many family members left as possible. For some, there was no family that could be found.
It was a time for remembrance. A time to look at old photos and bring friends together that had not seen each other in nearly 50 years.
But most importantly, it was a time of healing.
Susan Richards Abbe meets with family friend Fred Heller after not seeing each other in 48 years. Abbe is the brother of Dudley Richards who was in the crash that killed the 1961 US Figure Skating Team. Heller is the college roommate of Dudley Richards.
Diane Yeomans Robins holds a picture of her cousin Sharon "Sherri" Westerfeld. Westerfeld and her sister Stephanie "Steffi" were members of the 1961 US Figure Skating Team that perished in a plane crash in Brussels, Belgium on February 15, 1961.
Diana Le Maire Squibb holds a picture of her brother Richard "Dickie" Le Maire taken the night the 1961 US Figure Skating Team left for Prague. Squibb lost her father National Judge Edward "Eddie" Le Maire and brother Richard "Dickie" Le Maire in the crash that killed the 1961 US Figure Skating Team.
Fred Heller is the college roommate of Dudley Richards, 1961 US Pairs Skating Champion.
Susan Richards Abbe wears a bracelet of the medals awarded to her brother Dudley Richards who was in the crash that killed the 1961 US Figure Skating Team.
Sheryl Nolan holds a medal awarded to her father Daniel Ryan after winning a bronze medal at the 1952 World Championships in Paris, France.
Ruth Scholdan Harle holds a picture of her, her father Edi Scholdan and brother Jimmy taken outside the historic Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs, CO. Edi Scholdan, along with son Jimmy Scholdan and the 1961 US Figure Skating Team, perished in a plane crash in Brussels, Belgium on February 15, 1961.
Terri Sullivan holds a picture of her and her siblings: (front row left-right) Terri Sullivan, Michael Ryan and Sheryl Nolan, (back row left-right) Patrick Ryan and Kevin Ryan. Their father coach Daniel Ryan and the 1961 US Figure Skating Team perished in a plane crash in Brussels, Belgium on February 15, 1961.
Bowls honoring the 2011 US Figure Skating Hall of Fame inductees line a table at the induction ceremony for the 1961 US Figure Skating Team.
Siblings (seated from left-right) Terri Sullivan and Sheryl Nolan, (back from left-right), Kevin Ryan, Patrick Ryan and Michael Ryan pose for a picture after receiving a bowl honoring their father coach Daniel Ryan at the 2011 US Figure Skating Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
These photos were shot for ESPN's Outside the Lines
No comments:
Post a Comment