HUNTINGTON — Sean Hornbuckle told a story of an Alaska native who decided to attend Marshall University.

“She said, ‘I watched the movie, I learned a lot and this is where I wanted to come,’” recalled Hornbuckle, the school’s student body president. He was referencing “We Are Marshall,” the movie that chronicled the 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall football players, coaches, staff and supporters, as well as the entire flight crew.

Saturday marked the 39th anniversary of the tragedy, and Hornbuckle was giving the welcome at the annual memorial service at the Marshall Student Memorial Center. With his words, it was immediately apparent that the depth of the tragedy could be felt all around.

From Alaska to Atlanta, the boundaries of the crash’s effect on anyone involved with Marshall athletics, no matter how small, are far-reaching.

About 3,000 people attended the ceremony. Most of them were green-clad, but there were several Southern Miss fans in attendance as well. Their teams would be doing battle mere hours later, but the Eagle faithful was aware of how important the date is to the Huntington community, football fan or not.

Marshall President Stephen Kopp was one of the speakers. He remembered the ceremony at East Carolina in 2006, prior to the teams’ game that warm November afternoon.

The teams, of course, will forever be linked by the crash.

The Marshall team was on its way back from Greenville, N.C., when the accident occurred.

Three years ago, a plaque was dedicated at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to forever commemorate the victims. Kopp went in thinking those attending would be almost exclusively Marshall fans.

He was wrong. There were several ECU supporters there, and the significance of the day was not lost among them.

“They taught their children and their grandchildren to understand, respect and love what this tragedy is all about,” Kopp said.

Mike Hamrick, Marshall’s athletic director, was attending the ceremony for the first time in his new capacity. He has the unique perspective of having played for Marshall as the program was trying to rise from the ashes.

“As a player in the late 1970s, it was difficult,” said Hamrick, obviously emotional. “It was tough.”

Hamrick and his wife, Soletta, were both 13 at the time of the crash. Ironically, Soletta’s homeroom teacher that year was the wife of head coach Rick Tolley, who perished that rainy, windy night.

Lewisburg native Maurice Cooley is the director of the school’s Center for African-American Students Programs. He graduated from Marshall just months prior to the crash.

“I remember my father coming into the movie theater and telling me of the tragedy,” Cooley recalled.

Saturday’s keynote speaker was Joe Gillette, a 1973 Marshall graduate and former football player. His career came to an end prior to the 1970 season because of a shoulder injury.

Gillette compared Nov. 14, 1970, to March 6, 1836, when the familiar battle cry “Remember the Alamo!” was born in San Antonio.

“(The tragedy) led us to proclaim, ‘We are Marshall!’” said Gillette, now an Atlanta businessman. “We, too, have overcome.

“We are no longer grief-stricken,” he continued. “We are grief-inspired.”

Gillette said whenever he tells the story of the tragedy, he is sure to make everyone aware of the rise of the program and the community.

“I don’t just tell about the tragedy,” he said. “I also tell about the triumph.”

There were tears and there was laughter, but no sadness.

Nancy Campbell, Marshall’s Alumni Association president, put into perspective what the day was truly about.

“Let us celebrate that passion which is Marshall University.”

— E-mail: gfauber@

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