To This Day, I Still Have Nightmares!

I sent this as an email to a friend, and got a response of being a humble person about the medal I received for doing this.

I'm not feeling good at all, didn't sleep too good last night was tossing and turning most of the night. Had a dream about a plane crash, and I flashed back to this time when I was in the Air Force and during role call, the flight chief asked for volunteers to work the port mortuary anyway I couldn't go back to sleep. I saw dead people, all shapes and sizes, parts missing, heads, hands, legs... burned beyond recognition, some that looked like there was nothing wrong, till you uncovered the rest of the body... I'm sorry, I am sure you don't want to hear about this. First they say it was a deicing issue and mechanical failure due to the ice, and then #4 engine thrust reverser engages the plane crashes. 256 people are brought to Dover AFB, we took each body through 32 points of identification to try to gain 100% positive identification, then thru x-ray, then through dental... well, so much stuff, pretty gruesome stuff. I didn't think that it would still bother me, I guess I was wrong, and can you believe they gave me a medal for it? hmmm... seems almost selfish to take a medal for doing the right thing, this was all voluntary. I gave up my Christmas in 1985 so that these folks could be closer to their families during the holidays. The plane crash was carrying 101st Airborne, the plane crashed right after takeoff they were heading back home for the Christmas holidays, and it didn't seem quite right that these folks didn't make it home. I don't hang my plaque, or display my medal because people have a tendency to ask what it was for. Then I get some folks who think I am being conceited... hmmm. I don't see how that is conceited. Anyway, these folks did make it home. There is more to the story, but right now I can't go into it, but I believe anyone who reads this will hopefully understand why I did it. I would like to think I helped 256 families during that time.

If you would like to find out more here is a link of the most detailed reports of this crash:

thanks for taking the time to read this, if you have any comments or suggestions to help get thru this I would greatly appreciate the feedback.

http://www.sandford.org/gandercrash/investigations/majority_report/html/_1-1.shtml