Crash victims' families mourn at somber Dover ceremony

April 6, 1996
Web posted at: 10 p.m. EST

DOVER AFB, Delaware (CNN) -- "Their loved ones were proud of what they were doing, they believed in what they were doing," Clinton said Saturday to a tearful audience. "Even as we grieve, let us celebrate what their lives were."

The bodies of 33 Americans killed in a Croatia plane crash, including that of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, arrived Saturday afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where a memorial ceremony was held for them. The tribute was attended by President Clinton, his cabinet, and family members of the deceased.

All 33 families were represented at the memorial, the White House said. Clinton and Vice President Al Gore met with each family individually to give their sympathies and condolences. Brown's wife, Alma; son, Michael; daughter, Tracey, and other members of his family were in attendance.

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Tribute to crash victims

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Clinton has openly grieved for Brown, a longtime friend of the president who analysts believe helped him win office in 1992. Brown, an Army veteran, will be buried later this week in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Clinton will delivery the eulogy. A date for the funeral had not yet been set.

All 35 passengers aboard were killed Wednesday when their military plane crashed into a rocky hillside in Croatia. Two passengers were Croatian; another 12 were the heads of American corporations who joined Brown on a mission to stimulate U.S. corporate interest in rebuilding Bosnia.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the jet veered off course and crashed on its approach to the Dubrovnik airport. The dead were also honored on the other side of the Atlantic in a brief ceremony in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Saturday morning.

Hymns, artillery salutes

The Dover ceremony began with a playing of the national anthem as each casket, draped in an American flag, was taken off the plane and placed in the waiting hearses, each attended by a serviceman at attention. (1.0M QuickTime movie)

Family members, who earlier had cried and hugged each other, stood silently as the crash victims were taken off the plane.

Several hymns were also played, including "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty" and "Crown Him with Many Crowns."

The crash victims were given a 19-cannon salute, the traditional honor for deceased Cabinet members.

The simple, dignified ceremony has been polished over time at Dover Air Force Base, which has been the site of many sad returns. Soldiers killed in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War returned to the United States through Dover, as did victims of Pan Am flight 103, which blew up over Scotland, and astronauts from the final flight of the space shuttle Challenger.

'Stern rebuke to cynicism'

The prayer, given by the deputy chief of chaplains for the Air Force, touched on the public outreach nature of the group's visit to the Balkans, and asked that their death help to "renew our personal vision of public service."

Clinton followed with brief remarks, also stressing the nobility of their work.

"They believed that America, through their efforts, could restore a broken land," he said. "These 33 lives show us the best of America, and they are a stern rebuke for the cynicism that is all too familiar today."

Clinton noted that the people on the plane were there for different reasons -- businessmen, members of the military, a correspondent, and government staff.

"We can say many things of them, because these people were many things to those who loved them," Clinton said. "But I say to you, to every American, they were all patriots."

The president then read the names of the dead, "in honor of their lives, their servants, and their families." Families wept as the names were read.

The ceremony ended as dusk fell on the already cold and gray day.

Related stories

• Croatia bids farewell to Americans killed in plane crash
• Could deadly crash in Croatia have been avoided?
• Clintons plant a tree in honor of plane crash victims - April 5
• Bodies from plane crash arrive at morgue - April 4
• 33 bodies found in Croatia crash - April 4
• Commerce Department's future in doubt after leader's death - April 4
• Brown's death another sign of the high price of peace - April 4
• Asian leaders mourn Brown's death - April 4
• State Department releases list of crash victims - April 4
• Washington grieves for crash victims - April 4

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