47th Annual Fountain Ceremony honors 75 lost
Sons and daughters of Marshall, as well as members of the Huntington community, gathered together today to remember those 75 individuals who lost their lives 47 years ago, as the grandson of two of those people gave the keynote speech in their honor.
“From the day I was born, a love for Marshall University and Marshall football, has been engrained in me,” said Fisher Cross, grandson of Dr. H. D. Proctor and Courtney Proctor and a senior sports management major. “Marshall is about much more than football. It is about heart, resilience and determination. I am so honored and blessed to say that I am a son of Marshall, a citizen of Huntington, West Virginia and, most importantly, a descendant of the 75.”
The plane crash that took place that night has forever shaped this college and this city, building a closer knit and loving community that can bounce back from even the most tragic of events, according to Marshall alum Sara Tolley.
“Being from Wayne County and having known people who were a part of the 75, I always think of this day every year,” Tolley said. “The crash galvanized the community. Marshall has always been a big part of Huntington, but for that to have happened, and for everyone that is from here to have lost somebody, or know someone who lost somebody, it’s life changing. It was a rallying cry that brought everyone together and made everyone excited to watch this school rise from the ashes.”
The ceremony closed with the annual turning off of the water to the fountain, which will be left off until the spring to remind those that pass the empty fountain of the lives that were lost that day so many years ago.
Breanna Francis can be contacted at [email protected].
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