WELD COUNTY, Colo. – At a county commissioner’s meeting last week, a tight-knit group of citizens – on a mission to honor the sacrifices and pay tribute to victims of one of Colorado’s darkest days – thanked leaders for recognizing history, but also implored them to do more.
“70 years is a long, long time, and the families are finally getting a little respect for what happened to him at night during the whole process,” said an emotional Conrad Hopp.Just a teen on November 1, 1955, Conrad was sitting down for supper with his then-girlfriend and future wife, Martha, when at around 7 p.m., a loud explosion rocked the house.
“We thought some of the windows were even coming in and we jumped up and ran outside, the ball of fire was coming through the sky and the motors were wild and revved up. You just knew it was an airplane,” Conrad told Denver7.
It was at that moment, a 4-engine DC-6, United flight 629, exploded overhead and rained down wreckage across miles of Weld County land.
Conrad and Martha were one of the first on the scene of the mayhem.
“My dad and I ran outside and I remember all the roads were white with lights. Everybody was already out in the car,” said Martha. “When we got out on the road, there was already debris on the road here, it seemed like silverware and trays.”
Around 11 minutes before the explosion, United Flight 629 took off from Stapleton airport bound for Portland. As the DC-6 took off to the northwest and gained altitude, the controllers inside the tower saw a bright flash.
Back in Weld County, the images were seared into Phil Bearly’s memory. At just 5 years old, he remembers it like it was yesterday.
Denver7 | Gives
How Johnson's Corner became a bright light in one of Colorado's darkest nights
“I could draw you pictures of it right now, watching the wreckage go down to the ground. We were on the way to my grandmother’s birthday party in north Longmont and we were a half mile north of Highway 66 and 287 when we saw the flash in the sky,” said Bearly. “We thought it was a meteor at first – the secondary flash was four seconds later and that was the fuel on the plane. The first flash was 25 sticks of dynamite.”
In the video player at the top of this story, watch moments from Saturday's ceremony.
The bombing of United Flight 629 over Colorado was the first act of sabotage of an airliner in the United States and the FBI, together with local authorities, quickly pieced together what led to so many lives changed.
A Denver man – John Gilbert Graham – in an effort to collect money from a life insurance policy he purchased at the airport in his mother’s name, Daisy E. King, placed the dynamite in her suitcase with a timing device.
On May 5, 1956, Graham was found guilty of first degree murder, but only in the death of his mother. There were no other convictions for the deaths of the other 43 passengers.
Digital Originals
United 629 bombing and how Denver7 forever changed court coverage in Colorado
But this story isn’t about Graham. Often when you meet families of victims they’ll tell you too much focus is always directed at the perpertrator.
70 years later, the disaster’s impact is felt not only in the lives of families who lost a loved one, but the Weld County citizens who jumped into action and the first responders who were witness to so much carnage.
This weekend, there have been steps to honor the victims and bring more awareness to Flight 629 as families were brought to Denver for the 70th year since the tragedy.
Mike Hesse, with the Denver Police Museum has led an effort with several remembrances, including a Friday Night service at Church of the City and an emotional ceremony dedicating a memorial bench at the base of FlyteCo Tower.
You can watch moments from that ceremony in the video player below.
Denver7 has brought you many stories of the efforts of the Flight 629 Memorial Committee to envision a permanent memorial in Weld County, where the plane went down in 1955.
Through different visions of a design to holding events and going on local media, the committee has been trying to find a location for the future memorial.
But after years of hard work and lots of prayers, Becky Tesone with the Flight 629 Memorial Committee wanted to share good news.
“The first time that I saw this sign I just stepped back and just took a breath because it’s been such a long journey,” said Tesone, “This is what Firestone-Frederick, fire station number 6, their architect, came up with this design.”
She points to a large sign announcing the future site of the Weld County Flight 629 memorial on grounds of what will be the new fire station number 6 at Barefoot Lakes Parkway and Ronald Reagan Blvd.
Tesone expressed gratitude for Frederick-Firestone Fire District fire chief Jeremy Young.
“what a kind thing. And we thank the (Firestone) mayor Don Conyac , because he pointed us to him,” she added.
Tesone said the property holds special meaning as it’s part of the large area where wreckage came down that night.
On the sign, she points to images of the design, which includes a large airplane. While the future Flight 629 memorial will finally have its home, there is still a big need. The memorial committee is hoping big-hearted Coloradans will consider donating to help make the memorial a reality.
They bellieve it will cost many tens of thousands of dollars to build the memorial and the fire station is schedule to open in 2027.
“This is going to be a sacred place for people to come and sit and just reflect,” said Tesone. “Whether they were involved directly with this - or they have another death that they want to come and sit and just process – this is the place to come in Weld County, right here on this land.
”If you would like to help the Flight 629 Memorial Committee, here is a link to their GoFundMe campaign. Denver7 keep you updated on the progress of the memorial and will share more about their vision in future stories.
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.