U.S. Boxing Team Memorial
Details:
On the west side of the road, near the west entrance to the stadium.
Statue
Bronze statue of a fallen boxers listing the names of those who perished in the crash of Lot Airline Flight 007 on March 14, 1980 carrying the U.S. Boxing team, one of which, Sgt. Elliot Chavis, was in the American Armed Forces. One of the life size castings is permanently located at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, the other is at this location.
Dual meets were to be held in Cracow and Katowice, Poland. On March 14, 1980 the plane en-route was a Soviet built Polish Airlines IL-62 jetliner that went down a half-mile from Warsaw’s Okecie Airport. There had been problems with the landing gear on its first approach. On the second attempt the pilots used a special procedure to account for the faulty landing gear. However, the additional thrust used in the procedure caused one of the plane’s engines to break apart, which in turn severed the rudder and elevator control lines, which were needed to control the direction and altitude of the plane. The disaster that took the lives of 77 passengers and 10 crew members was the worst air crash in Poland’s history that time.
Monument Text:
Commemorates:
People:
Wars:
Cold War
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