Connie Lawn: Gruesome Memories of Mt. Erebus In DC

"Some of the bodies seemed miraculously whole; others charred beyond recognition still others had the appearance of being whole but crumbled to fragments when handled."

That was part of the gripping speech made by Sergeant Mark Penn, a retired member of the New Zealand Police. He spoke at a dignified and moving ceremony, held at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington on June the 4th. 14 NZ Special Service Medals were presented to U.S citizens and others will follow to more first responders, if they can all be located. They took part in the heartbreaking, cold, dirty, and dangerous recovery effort, nearly 30 years ago.

The crash into Mt. Erebus was one of the biggest tragedies faced by New Zealanders. Of the 257 who died, 200 were from NZ. 213 victims were eventually identified and taken home for burial. 44 were unidentified, and are buried in a group grave in Auckland.

At the Embassy Ceremony, special medals were presented. Speeches were given by Ambassador Roy Ferguson, and a video message transmitted from Prime Minister John Key.

All were eloquent, but the message from Mark Penn should be published in a long form. It is an incredible account of the aftermath of the tragedy. The heroic dedication of those involved in “Operation Overdue” should not be forgotten.

At another point in his remarks, Sgt. Penn says:

“We ran into an unexpected problem when large Antarctic gulls, known as scuas, began to peck at the exposed bodies and tore open the bags. This was devastating to our morale, and we decided the only way to protect the bodies was to bury them under a shallow covering of snow which we scraped off the surface of the glacier. This covering of snow quickly froze, which made it heavy and hard to break through when we were ready to move the bodies out.”

This is hard material to read, but it shows the dedication of the retrieval crews.

It is also a fitting irony that this ceremony took place shortly after the Air France crash from Brazil. Ambassador Ferguson paid tribute to those who perished in that tragedy.

In any tragedies, there are attempts to find some meaning and beauty. The Embassy published two poems by Bill Manhire. They had been read by Sir Edmund Hillary at Scott Base on the 25th anniversary of the crash.

He lost his good friend Peter Mulgrew in the tragedy. One poem is entitled “The Dead.” It reads:

“We fell, yet we were loved and we are lifted.
We froze, Yet we were loved and we are warm.
We broke apart, Yet we are here and we are whole.”

Thirty years later, but the sadness does not fade.

(Note – the Erebus tragedy has special meaning to Connie Lawn. She covered a trial in Washington DC which took place in the aftermath. At that time, she met and bonded with some of the loved ones)

Connie Lawn has a passionate love for NZ. She worked for Radio New Zealand for 20 years, and then for Radio Live for a few years. Connie has covered the White House and the world since 1968. Her other passion is skiing, and she calls herself "the skiing White House reporter." Her ski stories are on dcski.com and other outlets. Connie is also heard on thousands of radio stations, but firmly believes the internet is the future. She can be reached at connie@scoop.co.nz

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