{"id":27492,"date":"2024-11-04T10:49:07","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T15:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=27492"},"modified":"2024-11-04T11:13:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T16:13:38","slug":"54th-annual-memorial-fountain-ceremony-to-feature-grandson-of-team-physician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2024\/11\/54th-annual-memorial-fountain-ceremony-to-feature-grandson-of-team-physician\/","title":{"rendered":"54th annual Memorial Fountain Ceremony to feature grandson of team physician"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Fifty-four years ago, on a rainy Nov. 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed into a hillside as it approached Tri-State Airport with 75 Thundering Herd coaches, teammates, staff, supporters and flight crew members on board. The loss to not only the families of the victims in the crash, but the entire Huntington community, was immediately felt.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Barbera\u2019s mother, Tara, lost her parents, Margaret \u201cPeggy\u201d Chambers and Dr. Joseph Chambers \u2014 a family physician who also served the Marshall football team \u2014 in the crash. He never knew them personally, but he says through his mother\u2019s stories over the years, their legacy has lived on. Tara Barbera was just 14 when her parents died.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, my mom didn\u2019t talk about the tragedy,\u201d said Barbera. \u201cShe only spoke about the time she had with her mom and dad.\u00a0Her stories gave my brother and\u00a0I an idea of how great our grandparents were through her\u00a0memories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, at age 42, Barbera says the gravity of what happened only continues to resonate as he gets older.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis time of the year moves me more emotionally now, maybe because\u00a0I have a family of my own. It reminds me of what my mom and her sisters went through and that’s tough every year to\u00a0think\u00a0about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a Marshall and Herd soccer alum, Barbera\u2019s love for the university has only followed in his family\u2019s footsteps. On Thursday, Nov. 14, he will share his perspective on the impact the crash still has all these years later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want every college student and athlete who attends to understand that the student athletes on that plane had the same aspirations and goals as they do, but their chances were tragically cut short,\u201d Barbera said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the sports programs, I think it\u2019s especially important to understand what an impact they have on the university \u2014 how much they mean to the community and how that same community always has their back. They are playing for something greater than just a team. They are playing for our community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While that understanding is always present at Marshall, Barbera says the ceremony is the powerful vehicle that keeps those feelings strong, year after year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe ceremony is always so beautiful, but brings you back to the tragic moment. The quietness of the fountain turning off is so powerful,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost of all, I feel proud \u2014 proud to be a part of the Marshall family, this community, proud of my grandparents and most of all, proud of my mom and her sisters for becoming such wonderful women,\u201d Barbera said. \u201cWe will never forget the past, but can choose to live with happiness in the present.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbera currently resides in Huntington with his wife, Tiffany, and two kids, Mackenzie and Max, ages 10 and 8.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of the public are invited to attend in person or view a livestream of the event. To view the live stream or for more information on the plane crash or Memorial Fountain Ceremony, visit <\/span>www.marshall.edu\/neverforget<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Media are invited and encouraged to attend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

###<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.\u00a0\u2013 Fifty-four years ago, on a rainy Nov. 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed into a hillside as it approached Tri-State Airport with 75 Thundering Herd coaches, teammates, staff, supporters and flight crew members on board. The loss to not only the families of the victims in the crash, but the entire Huntington […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":665,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/665"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27492"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27496,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27492\/revisions\/27496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}