Veterans ride to commemorate 20th anniversary of special operations helicopter crash

Published Oct. 23, 2012
By 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- The crash of a special operations Pave Hawk helicopter on Utah's Antelope Island on Oct. 29, 1992, will be remembered in a very special way this Saturday.

Army Ranger veteran Danny "Doc" Cox is riding his bicycle more than 750 miles to commemorate the memory of the five U.S. Army Rangers and seven U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers who perished that night and to raise public awareness of veteran's issues such as unemployment, underemployment, homelessness and suicide.

The final leg of the ride begins at 9 a.m. with a pancake breakfast and bike rally at Timpanogos Harley Davidson in Linden, Utah. Interested bicycle or motorcycle riders who want to escort Cox on the final leg of the ride can register at Aride2Remember.com.

The ride will conclude at the Antelope Island Memorial where a re-dedication ceremony of the memorial, including the families of the fallen and those involved in the rescue operation, will be held at 3 p.m.

The event organizer is GallantFew, Inc., a veteran's-serving nonprofit dedicated to reducing veteran unemployment, homelessness and suicide. A major GallantFew program is the Darby Project which matches Rangers leaving active duty with hometown Ranger veterans who are now successful in their civilian careers.

Visit GallantFew.org to participate in one of the programs, to donate to the veteran's mentoring project or for more information.

For more information about Saturday's events, contact Heidi Benson at 801-664-7434.