<p>Today is the 40th anniversary of a plane crash in Peru that took the lives of 49 American high school exchange students, including DH’s 16-year-old sister. I’m curious to know if anyone else in the CC community was affected by this tragedy.</p>
<p>I barely remember hearing about the plane crash. As a child myself, I really didn’t realize how devistating the death of a child would be to her parents. When I was in third grade, one of the second grade teachers at our school lost her young son in a freak accident. It was sad but didn’t affect my life much. Now I can’t believe that his mom was back teaching kids her son’s age after just a few weeks. How did she do that?!</p>
<p>PRJ, I wasn’t affected by the crash in Peru, but I remember it. It was the summer that I graduated from high school. Years later, I read about it again when the daughter of a friend was killed in the Lockerbie bombing. My condolences to your husband on this sad anniversary.</p>
<p>“Now I can’t believe that his mom was back teaching kids her son’s age after just a few weeks. How did she do that?!”</p>
<p>People do what they have to do. That may mean compartmentalizing so they only concentrate on work while at work. That may be taking tranquillizers – which is what one of my friends has had to do since one of her twin sons – a college student-- died in a freak accident earlier this year. </p>
<p>The mother is the sole support of herself and her other son, so has no choice about working.</p>
<p>I know a lot of people, so know many who have lost children, something that used to be very common in this country before about 1920. Life goes on. Grieving parents continue with their lives and work despite the devastating heartbreak.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that more of us than realize it have friends and acquaintances who’ve lost children. The death of offspring isn’t something that people feel comfortable discussing in our country, in which death is so hidden and death of children is considered not that possible.</p>
<p>The other day when I was in a theatre production, I was talking to the costume designer, a middle aged woman. We got on the subject of children, grandchildren, and she told me that her adult son had died of an OD last year. It broke my heart when she apologized for talking about her son, but i’m guessing that she has encountered people who cringe when she talks about the subject.</p>
<p>I took the exact same flight exactly three years previous to this tragedy, with the exact same exchange organization. I knew a couple of people who died on that flight; they were the organizers the year I went, as well.</p>
<p>The other, wider-reaching tragic event that happened on August 9 was the bombing of Nagasaki at the end of WWII.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your kind and thoughtful words. Now as a parent of teens, the loss of a child is unfathomable to me. Northstarmom, that’s an interesting point that parents who have lost a child often don’t talk about it, so if you meet them later in their life you may never know the loss they have suffered. I don’t think I’ve ever discussed the loss of her D with my MIL.</p>
<p>franglish, your parents must have had a “there but for the grace of God…” moment.</p>
<p>I am so sorry for you H’s loss. My brother was also killed in the plane crash. I was only 9, but I remember it vividly. Things were not as easy then. Just putting an “international call” through required planning. It took weeks to get the bodies back. It was awful. Now that I have children, I admire my own mother (and father) for their strength. They never restricted me from going places and doing things. I now know how hard that must have been. My older brother took it harder than me. There is a book about all of the students. It is light blue and it was printed privately. My mother has a copy in her study. Maybe your in-laws have a copy.</p>
<p>rowersmom - thanks so much for posting. I knew there had to be a few people in the CC community who were affected in one way or another. I am very sorry for the loss of your brother.</p>
<p>DH found the Jerilyn Feldman website several years ago, back when Google was young and you never knew what would pop up if you Googled yourself or your family. he knew nothing about the book, even though his mother wrote the most beautiful piece about his sister. I don’t think she ever shared it with DH and we still don’t know if his parents have a copy of the book. DH got his own copy from Jerilyn’s brother and we’ve shared it with our DDs.</p>
<p>thanks again for posting and, since I see you are a relatively new member, welcome to CC :)</p>