Join Vanessa on this heartfelt episode of the Tri State Time Machine as we commemorate the 1970 Marshall University plane crash, a tragedy that forever changed the Huntington community.

Hear from special guests Amy Prestera and Katie Dawson as they share personal stories of loss, resilience, and the enduring spirit of Marshall University. Discover how this devastating event reshaped sports safety and inspired a legacy of unity and hope.

Don’t miss this moving tribute to the lives lost and the strength of a community that continues to honor their memory.

This episode is sponsored by Alex R. White, PLLC.

If you have a memory you would want me to talk more about, just send me an email at TSTM@mail.com. Or post a comment on the Tri-State Machine FB Group page.

Welcome to the Tri-State Time Machine.

I'm your host Vanessa Hankins. This is a podcast where my guests and I share our memories and present day stories of the Tri-State Area. That's West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Nothing too serious, no political views, and no ulterior motives.

We're just here to share our fun stories about this great area.

Whether you're a past resident or a current Tri-State resident, I think you're going to have fun with us.

So join in, press play on your podcast player, and welcome to the Tri-State Time Machine! 

Music from #Uppbeat - https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/new-life - License code: LWJEODYBFWYH73TR

https://ts-time-machine.captivate.fm/episode/remembering-the-marshall-thundering-herd-plane-crash

Copyright 2024 Vanessa Hankins

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

Vanessa: Hey, it's Vanessa. And welcome to the Tri State Time machine. We are slowing down this month to memorialize or help memorialize.

Vanessa: Um.

Amy Prestera: How are you? Thank you. We're good.

Vanessa: I'm glad to have you guys here. Um, this has been an episode. I know I've told Amy this. This has been an episode that I've wanted to do for a really long Time. Um, I think in part because it is such a heartfelt spot for our community, but also because we love Marshall in Huntington. Like, we eat, breathe, sleep, dream.

Amy Prestera: We bleed Marshall.

Vanessa: We bleed green. We absolutely do. So, um, tell us, Amy, your relation to the Marshall plane crash.

Amy Prestera: Uh, my grandfather, Michael Prester Sr. Um, was, um, a member of the Big Green. And he wasn't even supposed to be on the plane. He was coming home from a business trip and was in the airport when one of the athletic directors asked my grandfather if he would be interested in a seat, um, a ticket to go with the team. And he said, absolutely, yes.

Vanessa: Yeah, well. Cause why not? Why would you not jump on the plane with the team?

Amy Prestera: He left Marshall for sure.

Vanessa: All right, Katie, tell me about how your relation to the plane clash.

Katie Dawson: Uh, my parents are Red Dawson and Carol Dawson. And obviously, everyone knows who my dad.

Vanessa: Absolutely. Um, if someone didn't know who your dad, would you tell them who your dad is, just in case? Because sometimes we have listeners that are new to home.

Katie Dawson: Okay. My dad was Rhett Dawson. He was the assistant football coach.

Vanessa: The plane crash happened, and he was not on the plane.

Katie Dawson: He was not on the plane.

Vanessa: So he came back to coach the young, thundering Herd. Correct?

Katie Dawson: Yes.

Amy Prestera: All right.

Katie Dawson: Yes.

Vanessa: All right. Um, so let's talk about it. With 75 passengers and crew. Um, that is with all the players, the, uh, Big Green members, community members, fans in general, and then the coaching staff. Correct. Was your dad the only coaching staff that was not on the plane?

Katie Dawson: No.

Vanessa: How many were not? Do you know?

Katie Dawson: There was. Mickey Jackson was not on the plane either, and a couple other ones, but I'm not really sure who.

Vanessa: Okay.

Katie Dawson: I can't remember.

Vanessa: Cool. So your grandpa, was he or, uh, was he just, like, randomly in the airport on his own or was he traveling with someone else?

Amy Prestera: No, he had just come back. He had just been elected at the House of Delegates and had gone on a business trip and was coming home from a business trip. And he was walking out of the airport, and the team and the fans were walking in the airport, and they just happened to be passing. And he was stopped and asked if he wanted to go, and he said absolutely. So he called home and asked for a suitcase and change of clothes, and somebody came to the airport and dropped off a suitcase, and off they went.

Katie Dawson: That's a deep question. Um, well, growing up, he really didn't speak about the Marshall plane crash.

Vanessa: I'm sure. I can only imagine growing up, I.

Katie Dawson: Didn'T have a whole lot of working knowledge. You knew it happened, but there wasn't discussion about it.

Vanessa: Okay.

Katie Dawson: My, um, aunt and uncle who own Matt Webb, who owned Mac and Dave's, owner of Mac and Dave's. Um, him and my aunt took me to the Marshall games.

Vanessa: Oh, wow.

Katie Dawson: So I didn't.

Vanessa: Because dad was busy. Dad and mom were busy.

Katie Dawson: Well, dad didn't go to the Marshall Games.

Vanessa: Oh, okay.

Katie Dawson: Yeah. So that wasn't until after the movie came into play that dad started going back to the Marshall games.

Vanessa: Oh, wow.

Katie Dawson: Yeah. So there was not. I had to do my own research on what happened.

Vanessa: Gotcha.

Katie Dawson: With the plane crash, as I got older.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Katie Dawson: There was no There was no discussion.

Vanessa: Love is hard because that's a heavy burden to carry. I can only imagine. Um, and, Amy, how did it affect your Family?

Amy Prestera: Well, you know, um, it's funny. My m. Mom and dad were on their first date, um, when the night of the plane crash happened. And, um, as soon as my dad found out, when it came on the screen and they saw the TV announcements, my mom and my dad both got up and went to the hospital and met their mother and siblings, um, with a room full of other Family members waiting.

Vanessa: And he's one of the few people that was able to call home and say, hey, we had this last minute change.

Amy Prestera: Yes. And so, um, you know, they were at the hospital, um, when they came out and spoke to each family member to let them know that they were known survivors.

Vanessa: Gotcha. Your, um, mom, I'm sure, has, like, very, very vivid memories of how the weeks and days to follow unfolded.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Amy Prestera: Uh, um, my mom talks about the countless funerals that they attended and the countless flower arrangements that arrived, um, the letters that arrived from the governor and from the flight crew families and from the airline and, you know, congressmen, senators, you know, business people sent, you know, sent flowers, sent letters, sent food. Um, you know, and my mom watched all that unfold and, you know, she just kind of was a bystander at that point.

Vanessa: Absolutely. I can get that 100%. So, Katie, was it a little bit different for you where your dad kind of checked out for everything? Yes, that's exactly what happened. Yeah, I get that. Um, again, I just can't understand the burden that he must have carried. Um, I know it's portrayed in the movie, but a movie can only go so far, so I can only imagine that weight that he still carries probably today. Um, so let's talk about, um, the Marshall 75 alumni chapter. Are you guys both members of that?

Amy Prestera: Yes, I'm the treasurer.

Vanessa: All right, tell us about. Oh, awesome. Look, uh, at you, Miss Fancy Pants.

Amy Prestera: Yeah, we, um, started, um, a chapter with the alumni Association for the families of the 75. Um, we have, you know, a board, a president, a vice president, secretary, treasurer, and then a few board members on our, um, on our chapter who, you know, were integral parts. One of the gentlemen that, um, is on our board, he was a fireman the night of the plane crash.

Vanessa: Oh, wow.

Amy Prestera: And then, um, our president, her dad was one of the flight crew members that was on the plane.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Amy Prestera: And then, um, our vice president, his grandparents were on the plane. They were fans.

Vanessa: So everybody in this alumni chapter has very Close ties.

Amy Prestera: Yes.

Vanessa: Very good. Close ties. So tell me when you guys established that chapter.

Amy Prestera: It was established last year.

Vanessa: Okay.

Amy Prestera: Um, we, you know, got together and sat down once, Brad Smith, and talked about, you know, something that we wanted to do, and they said it was awesome. An idea, you know, because. Great for all of us to have, you know, something together.

Vanessa: Absolutely.

Amy Prestera: As a group. And, um, we have been raising money, um, for a scholarship fund.

Vanessa: Um, I was gonna say, I read online about the scholarship fund that you guys have established to. That gives a full ride scholarship to, um, descendants of plane class victims. Is that correct? M. Yeah. That's amazing. And what an undertaking that you guys have taken on your shoulders to raise that kind of money to make that happen.

Amy Prestera: There was, um, there was a motorcycle ride in June of this year.

Vanessa: Now, will that continue? Yes, that will be every year.

Amy Prestera: That will be an annual thing. Um, and then Monday, um, Marshall is releasing a special T shirt sweatshirt from Glenn's, and $5 from every purchase will go to our scholarship.

Vanessa: Oh, how cool.

Amy Prestera: And there'll be a Facebook Live to.

Vanessa: Sell those or just to let you know. Oh, that's so cool. So there's a limited run of those, I'm sure.

Vanessa: Right.

Vanessa: Do you know how many? Are you in the loop?

Amy Prestera: No, I have no idea.

Vanessa: I'm like, tell me the secrets. Tell me. Tell me.

Amy Prestera: Yes. No, we. We don't know. We won't know till. We won't know till Monday.

Vanessa: So off your head. Do you know how many fountain ceremonies you've probably attended in your life? Probably all.

Amy Prestera: Probably all of them. If not, I know more than 40.

Vanessa: Oh, wow. Wow. And it's such a beautiful ceremony. If no one's ever gone, um, when they shut down the fountain, what time do they do that in spring? In spring.

Amy Prestera: At the spring. At the spring game.

Vanessa: And they relight it and then reopen it.

Amy Prestera: The fountain gets turned off in November and turned on in April.

Vanessa: Oh, that's beautiful. And like I said, it's a very beautiful ceremony. Each year they have special guests that come and speak at that. Um, last year, who was it that spoke? What was the gentleman's name? Do you remember? He was a player, right?

Amy Prestera: He was a player.

Vanessa: Yes. Okay. All right.

Amy Prestera: And this year.

Vanessa: That's what I thought.

Amy Prestera: This year it's a, um, grandson of Dr. Chambers.

Katie Dawson: Chambers.

Vanessa: That's really cool. That's really, really cool. So, um, if the listeners at home don't know, um, the flight left Kingston, North Carolina, and was on its way to, um, Cerrito, West Virginia, to the Tri State airport. The crash happened just about a mile shy of the airport. Am I correct on that? Yeah. I, um, do know in the movie it's portrayed that basically, and this is something that I think me, myself, and listeners at home are probably not realizing. There were no cell phones, there were no social, uh, medias. There were none of that. So this community basically showed up at this plane site, this crash, to see if their loved ones was indeed if that was their plane crash or their plane, for one, because there was no way of. We didn't have real Time data at that point in Time. So you had a whole community that basically shut down and went to the crash, went to the hospital, went to somewhere with groups of other people, churches, hospitals, you know, you name it. To be with others until they found out who was on the. Who was on the plane.

Vanessa: I know in the movie, and I.

Vanessa: Don'T know how true it is in real life, but, um, your mom didn't know that your dad was not on the plane. She had assumed. Oh, she did know. So there was some Hollywood. Okay. Okay. Well, that's good to know because I can't imagine that heartbreak like that scene gets me every time in the movie. Um, so that, that's good. That's reassuring to know. That makes my heart a little bit more happy about the situation because I can't imagine thinking that I've lost someone and then come to find out they're just piddling along, driving Route 60 on the way home. Um, there were several.

Amy Prestera: There were several, um, football players that no one knew whether they were on the plane or not.

Vanessa: Right, right, right. So, um, talk about some of your favorite stories from the plane crash that you've heard over the years.

Amy Prestera: Um, the one story that, you know, really, you know, hits home is, um, you know, knowing that my grandfather had that opportunity to get that ticket and, you know, and it's a very, you know, emotional thing knowing that, you know, he had no, you know, we. We had no idea. We had no clue.

Vanessa: Right.

Amy Prestera: The plane would never make it back.

Vanessa: Absolutely.

Amy Prestera: But just knowing that the families that are all connected.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Amy Prestera: You know, um, you know, I've been friends with Katie for years, you know, and, you know, we share a connection, you know.

Vanessa: Absolutely.

Amy Prestera: You know, we all carry it near and dear.

Vanessa: I was going to say many of your good friends are families and relatives of the plane crash. Um, but I think that goes to show the character of our community. Um, I think we have the best fans in the world. I, uh, may be a little biased, but like we said, in the beginning of the podcast, we bleed green here. We eat, sleep, dream, breathe green. We love our Marshall players. We love all of our sports. It's not just football. And we show up in a way to our sporting events that I think is unheard of in other communities. Uh, would you agree with that? Yeah.

Amy Prestera: Um, we care about each other, and we care about the community, you know, the families. Um, you know, it's been. This will be 54 years, and it's still as fresh today as it was 54 years ago.

Vanessa: Absolutely, absolutely. Um, I was talking to a neighbor before I got here, and she was talking about how she was a little girl and she was 4 years old, and her Family, her mom and dad, were really good friends with someone on the coaching staff. And she remembers that night they went to campus and she was in the AD room. And, um, she remembers just having that particular coach. And I forget which one she said it was. Set her up on the desk and kind of was like, hugging her. Just zoned out in his own world, you know, and that was what he needed to kind of bring him back down to the realization that, oh, my gosh, this just happened. And, um, they had thought he was on the plane, so they had picked up his wife and drove to the college to be in that nuclear Family to figure out, was this true? Did this really happen? Is this just hearsay? Um, but her and her husband are probably some of the biggest Marshall fans that I've ever heard. So shout out to Monica and Jerry if there is a Marshall sports event happening. They are there. They're there an hour before, they're there an hour after. Um, I think fans like that are a true testament to the whole phrase, we are Marshall, you know? Um, and I think for as long as Huntington is still thriving and Marshall's still growing, and, God, it's growing. It's getting bigger and bigger with Brad Smith. Um, but I think it will continue to live in the hearts of our community forever. Forever. I mean, I know that the crash was one of the worst in sports history, so we're known for that around the United States. Um, but things have changed because of that crash. There's a lot of safety measures that are insured now for teams. Um, there are regulations of how they can travel, how many are allowed to be on a plane, things like that. Um, which. It sucks that tragedy had to happen for that to become a thing. But, uh, it is one of the things that just have to happen in order for those changes to make way, you know? Um, so tell Me about what you hope that the community takes from the crash, Katie.

Katie Dawson: Just a continued sense of community that we have here. That it's never forgotten.

Vanessa: Absolutely.

Katie Dawson: That the traditions continue and the incoming students participate as well.

Vanessa: I love that, you know, that they.

Katie Dawson: Take, um, part in the activities so that they also can feel a sense of community. Because we have a lot of people that come from everywhere.

Vanessa: We really do.

Vanessa: We really, really do.

Katie Dawson: Because of the movie and type of thing.

Vanessa: And now, um, it seems like. And you guys probably know more than me because I'm not involved in the alumni chapters or anything like that. It seems like Brad has some. Has breathed new life into making it known of that. We did rise from glory. We did come back from that. And we are growing steadily bigger than ever. Um, would you guys agree with that?

Katie Dawson: Oh, yeah. I mean, if you look at. From the Time the plane crash happened till we had our first championship.

Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

Katie Dawson: That's only 20 years.

Vanessa: Right. I remember. I remember being at that game. Absolutely.

Katie Dawson: Absolutely.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Vanessa: So it was, uh, a very fond memory of mine as a child to have been at that game. Um, we. We grew up kind of poor, so going to a Marshall game was a really big treat. Um, and my uncle had taken me and I just remember, um, like, what the hell is going on? All these people are crazy, you know, because I had never been to a big football game before, so I thought that was really cool to be at that game. Of all the games. Oh, yeah. I, um, thought that was awesome.

Amy Prestera: And, you know, one of the traditions that I like, um, is that the football players go up from the stadium, they run up to Spring Hill Cemetery every year, um, you know, sit around the monument and they all talk.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Amy Prestera: And, um, Rev, you know, tells a story and, you know, they get to feel the presence of those players.

Vanessa: Absolutely.

Amy Prestera: And I think that helps some of these players realize they're playing for 75 people. Every time they hit that field, they're playing for those 75.

Vanessa: Which I think that's why our community embraces them the way that we do, because of that experience that they get to have. And I agree with you. I think that's a beautiful thing. If you've never been to the healing fields at Spring Hill Cemetery, um, it is a, ah, force to be reckoned with. You can definitely, um. I don't want to get too ghostly, uh, here, but you can, you can feel a presence. You really can. You can feel that they are there and they love this community. And I love that we all keep showing up. I love that you Said, um, that we keep those traditions going. I, um, think that's beautiful. I think that is probably the best legacy that could be had was to keep these traditions going.

Katie Dawson: Absolutely.

Vanessa: Well, thank you guys for being on. Is there anything you guys want to say before we go? Anything that I'm forgetting?

Katie Dawson: Go hard, go.

Vanessa: Oh, beautiful. We are.

Vanessa: Brain and I will never forget.

Vanessa: My sister Melinda and I were too young to attend the service for Mike, but our two older sisters were allowed to go. It was extremely hard for my dad to because he loved Mike so much. In my later years, as I attended middle school and high school, I became friends with a lot of kids that lost parents in the plane crash. It was then that it really hit me how it impacted so many lives in our small community. I'm still friends with those people and they have gone on and have done so much for our community. Courtney Proctor, Cross, Parker Ward, and all the Hagley children are just a few. When the Marshall movie came out, those memories just came flooding back. Especially in the beginning of the movie when they show the live footage of the plane crash and all the flames.

Vanessa: And the debris everywhere.

Vanessa: That's what I remember the most. As I said earlier, that image will be forever burned into my brain. I visited the site of the plane crash not long ago, and I visit the memorial in Spring Hill very often. Mike is not buried there, but he rests in peace beside my mamaw and my dad. It warms my heart to know that dad is finally being reunited with Mike, the son that he never had. He had four daughters.

Vanessa: Shoo.