C141B

Legislation re-introduced by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards would allow a memorial for nine Air Force crew members to be moved from its current location off the Cherohala Skyway to the Stratton Ridge Rest Area. Photos by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com

Air Force Memorial Act re-introduced

Kevin Hensley

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Cherohala – U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C. of Hendersonville) recently re-introduced legislation that would move a memorial off of the Cherohala Skyway and closer to the site of a crash that killed nine U.S. Air Force crew members more than 42 years ago.

A memorial – with names of those lost engraved into the stone – was placed on private land about six miles east of the 1982 crash site of a U.S. Air Force C-141B cargo jet. A new bill would have the memorial closer to the site of the crash, which is off the Cherohala Skyway. Photo courtesy of Randy Foster/Community Newspapers, Inc.

Bill would move memorial

Ruby Annas

Thursday, November 30, 2023

U.S Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-Hendersonville) recently introduced a bill to the House of Representatives to relocate a memorial to the Cherohala Skyway in Graham County, to honor the nine Air Force crew members who lost their lives in the Amore 66 plane crash.

A model of a C-141B cargo jet sits on a pedestal amid roses and U.S. flags distributed to surviving family members of the crew of nine Air Force servicemen killed in a crash on Aug. 31, 1982, at a memorial service held on the 40-year anniversary of the tragedy. Photos by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Aug. 31, 1982

Randy Foster

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Cherohala – It was a tragedy that did more than cut short the lives of nine elite U.S.