DENVER – It’s was right around 7 p.m. on November 1, 1955 when passengers of United Flight 629 settled into the DC-6 for the the trip from Denver’s Stapleton Airport to Portland.
Minutes later, controllers in the tower saw a bright flash in the northwest sky as the dark reality of what would become the first sabotage of a U.S. airliner became part of Weld County’s story.
The airliner broke up and fell into the field and farmland as ordinary residents and first responders rushed to the chaos.
There was no one to save. 44 people, whose names and faces have largely been lost in Colorado history, were gone.
Some were headed to see family, others, including crew members, weren’t supposed to be on that flight.One thing they all had in common: They all left behind shattered families, many of whom were so devastated, they couldn’t talk about the horrific crime.
It didn’t take long to piece together the horrible motive. A Denver man, in an effort to collect life insurance money from killing his own mother, decided to hide 25 sticks of dynamite into her suitcase and bring the whole plane down not caring at all about the 43 other victims.
Justice was swift and John Gilbert Graham was executed months after the attack.
Colorado, no stranger to tragedies, has never had any permanent marker or memorial to honor the victims.But that changed on Saturday, which was the 70th November 1st since the bombing.
The Denver Police Museum has for many months been working to contact families of United Flight 629 in an effort to bring as many as they could to a special weekend of remembrance.
And on Saturday, following a gathering inside FlyteCo Tower in which relatives of the victims and local former and current leaders shared stories and remembrances, a permanent marker was finally dedicated to the tragedy.
Outside FlyteCo, at the base of the old Stapleton control tower, sits a bench dedicated to the victims, first responders and law enforcement.
On Saturday, a family member or representative of one of the 44 lives lost, each placed a single red rose on the bench in a ceremony that included a bell toll and a DC-3 flyover.
Friday included a service at Denver’s Church in the City in which pastor Simon Obert delivered an uplifting message to families the hopes some might find healing after all these decades.
In the video player at the top of this story, watch moments from Saturday's ceremony.
As this weekend’s events come to an end and families return home, the push to honor their loss and the sacrifices Weld County residents made 70 years ago is not over.
A tight-knit group of determined Coloradans is working to bring to reality a permanent memorial in Weld County where the tragedy unfolded.
The United Flight 629 Memorial Committee has been encouraging Coloradans to learn about what happened and to help support the construction of a permanent place for families and the community to reflect and heal.
Through months of hard work, the Flight 629 Memorial Committee is close to announcing the location of the future memorial.
They are hoping Coloradans will open their hearts and help support the construction of the memorial, of which the design is coming to life.To learn more or to donate, go to their GoFundMe campaign at this link.
Denver7 has for years been covering the United Flight 629 crash, and in the video player below, you can watch a special half-hour program on the push to build the permanent memorial in Weld County.