Chuck Edwards, Thom Tillis introduce bills to move Air Force crash site marker
North Carolina Congressional leaders introduced legislation last week that would allow for moving a memorial dedicated to a U.S. Air Force crew killed in an accident more than 40 years ago.
Nine Air Force members died August 31, 1982, when their plane crashed in Cherokee and Nantahala national forests, which abut along the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, while on a training mission from Charleston Air Force Base.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis put forward companion bills that would facilitate relocating a memorial dedicated to them closer to 'where the crash actually happened, and the majority of the wreckage was recovered,' Tillis said in a May 23 news release.
'This bill will give the families of crew members who died in this tragic accident the authority needed to work with the U.S. Forest Service to move the memorial to a more accessible site, keeping the memories of our nation's fallen soldiers alive for years to come,' Edwards said in a May 23 news release.
He, along with North Carolina Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, put forward the Stratton Ridge Air Force Memorial Act May 23.
Edwards said that the proposed site for the memorial is Stratton Ridge rest area in Graham County, which is closer to the site of the crash than the current granite marker on private land in Cherokee and Nantahala national forests. He said that it's also more prominent and accessible to the public.
This legislation is a crucial step in ensuring these heroes are properly remembered in perpetuity at the actual crash site,' Tillis said in a release.
'Western North Carolina will never forget the tragedy that occurred in 1982 when nine Air Force crew members lost their lives in our district,' Edwards said.
More: Rep. Chuck Edwards releases report for Helene recovery and FEMA reform
More: Protest targets Rep. Edwards' support for budget that could threaten Medicare, VA funding
More: Hendersonville man in coma but stable after Memorial Day weekend crash in Mills River
George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: NC lawmakers move to allow relocation of Air Force accident memorial
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