U.S. military provides funds for repair of Kindergarten
Today marks the 51st anniversary of a tragic flight and crash of a U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft in the village of Nerkin Sasnashen and also marks the beginning of a renewed relationship between the village and the people of the United States.
After a ceremony commemorating the extraordinary events of over 50 years ago, Defense Attache Lieutenant Colonel Robert Webster announced that the village will receive approximately $140,000 USD to repair and refurbish the kindergarten and complete landscaping of the grounds. He stated, "Completion of this Office of Defense Cooperation repair project will help show our appreciation to the villagers who have continued to bring honor to the memory of those servicemen who perished here in the line of duty over 50 years ago." Additionally, members of the embassy community collected and presented 80 backpacks with schools supplies for the children to use when they return to kindergarten early next year.
On September 2nd, 1958, a United States Air Force reconnaissance-configured C-130, with 17 airmen inside, was shot down over the airspace of Soviet Armenia. The airplane crashed approximately 200 meters north of the village of Nerkin Sasnashen, killing all 17 airmen on board. In 1993, the people of Sasnashen erected a monument to the fallen airmen. Since that time, the villagers commemorate the site on the anniversary of the crash to honor those who sacrificed their lives in service to their country.
