HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – 51 years ago, tragedy struck the Huntington community and to this day, Marshall University alumni, friends, and family gather every year to remember those who died on Southern Airways Flight 932.

On November 14th, 1970, the Marshall Thundering Herd football team was returning home from East Carolina University when their plane crashed into a hillside about one mile from the Tri-state Airport runway in Kenova, West Virginia.

Those killed in the crash include most of the 1970 team, along with most of the coaching staff and some members of the Huntington community. On Sunday, the university mourned the loss of these men and women by turning off the Memorial Fountain for the winter season.

The keynote speaker for the event was a former freshman player from the 1970 team and member of the Young Thundering Herd, Mark Miller. Miller remembers vividly the moment he found out about the plane crash.

It was a terrible time, the parents coming in was devastating. They had lost their sons. It was a very trying time.

Mark Miller, 1970 Marshall football player

For the Marshall University family and the local community, they will never forget the names of those men and women. 75 roses were placed near the fountain, each one representing a loved one lost in the plane crash.

Family members of the victims say for them, this time of the year is always difficult.

It’s difficult, but… I’m just glad to be here keeping them alive

Jerome Brown, Joe Hood’s brother

The fountain will be turned back on in the spring, symbolizing the return of the Young Thundering Herd following the tragedy.