We Are Marshall

Justin McElroy of the Herald-Dispatch (Huntington, West Virginia) wrote a nice story today about the annual memorial service for the Marshall University football team. It's the 36-year anniversary of the DC-9 crash that killed 75 people—including 37 Thundering Herd players, five coaches and several boosters. The accident is considered the worst sports-related disaster in U.S. history. (A feature film, We Are Marshall, dramatizing the tragedy, comes out on December 22.)

McElroy's lede:

"William 'Red' Dawson is not usually comfortable taking center stage at the annual Marshall memorial service of the 1970 plane crash. The former Thundering Herd receivers coach usually watches from afar, leaning against an old sycamore where he can watch what’s going on but stay just out of sight."