Even as the bright new year began, 12 miners lost their lives to an accident in West Virginia. After the long vigil of friends and familes waiting to hear any news at all from the rescue operations,
after a miscommunication early this morning that 12 of the men had been found alive,
there is only one survivor.
Twelve men, out of 13, will not return to their families.
My father was born in West Virginia coal country. His father was a union organizer for the miners, at best a very dangerous occupation still today.
My heart aches.
May the surviving young man recover fully, if that is possible after losing the men who worked beside him.
May the families find peace in their grief.
May these twelve never again know the darkness. May they now be forever in the light.
6 comments:
That is so sad. When I left for work this morning they said they had found the 12 miners and their families were screaming in joy. :'-(
I heard the news early in the morn that the 12 had died. Then went outside to pick up the morning paper only to read the headline: 12 Found Alive in Coal Mine. A terrible tragedy, truly heartbreaking...and then the coverage...how could that happen??
Terrible and sad. I followed by tv what happened. When I visited USA a friend from WV, a coaler, was our kind "touristic guide" and "driver". I am very close to those families
Steve and I went to bed believing they were alive. Woke up to the news that "Oops, sorry, we were wrong, they're dead." I went cold all over. We only live (or lived, when we lived there) about 50 miles from where that happened and had been glued to the news for 2 days. I have saved the "THEY'RE ALIVE!" newspaper.
Thank you for posting this.
Is this one of your photos?
Yes, I took it. From a summer morning race in Baltimore.
I wanted a photo that showed light and air and hope to honor the memory of the men.
Not one that reflected the darkness and cold of death in a mine.
No darkness. Only light.
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