Village thanked for saving Marines
U
S ambassador Alan Salomont visited the small town of last week to honour the 19 surviving residents who helped rescue 24 Marines in March 1960 when their plane crashed in the nearby mountains. Two of the surviving Marines, James Frank Zaio and Francis John Rup, accompanied the ambassador.
The accident happened when the right wing of the DC-4 that was transporting the marines from Naples to the US military bas of Rota in Cadiz province hit a peak in the Sierra Nevada. The plane lost an engine and crashed into the snow near the edge of a precipice at an altitude of 2,600 metres. After walking for six hours, one of the Marines reached Jerez del Marquesado, which then had a population of 3,000, three times more than today.
As neither the Marine nor the villagers spoke each other's language, he had to make a paper plane to explain that a real one had crashed. The villagers then organised a rescue party and brought the men down safely. Mr Zaio and Mr Rup had not visited the village since although they both said they would never forget those nightmarish hours.
Their surviving rescuers, all over 70 now, said the trek to the scene of the accident and back – on foot or by mule – had been worth it. One said the satisfaction of rescuing the men alive had overridden all the memories of the difficulties and dangers of bringing them down the mountain, especially the ones who had been severely injured.
The official opening of the “Fraternal Path of the Plane”, which follows the route taken by the rescuers, was followed by six days of celebrations, which included the presentation of a book about the rescue.
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