On September 2nd 1958 while on a routine aerial reconnaissance mission, a U.S. C-130 tail number 60528 was shot down by four MIG-17s after inadvertently straying into the Soviet airspace over Armenia. Local villagers who witnessed the crash say the C-130 was on coarse to crash into the village of Sasnashen, and through the efforts of the pilots and crew the C-130 changed corse just before impact causing the C-130 to crash less than 200 meters from Sasnashen. The Villagers believe that the actions of the crew saved countless live. Even now the people of Sasnashen pay tribute to these fallen heros. This year I had the honer to be present for this ceremony, I was deeply moved when the class rings that belonged to two of these brave crew members were returned to the U.S. by the family that had discovered and hid them from the Government Officials of the Soviet Union.
Mother and Son that have kept the class rings
Maj Kyle walks to the Memorial Site followed by the people of Sasnashen
Presenting the rings
Returning to Sasnashen after the ceremony
