A remembrance ceremony was held at Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff Friday on the one year anniversary of a medical helicopter crash that claimed three lives. The crew died when the helicopter crashed in Hazelhurst, just miles from the landing pad at Howard Young Medical Center after a flight to Madison.
Rico Caruso of Hazelhurst was the Air Methods Pilot, Greg Rosenthal of Mosinee the Flight Paramedic, and Klint Mitchell of Watersmeet, the Flight Nurse, all died in the crash.
Matt Thompson is EMS outreach coordinator of Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transportation. He said today was a day to reflect...
"...Today we held an event called "Honoring The Crew Of 127". 127 was the tail number of Spirit 2 that went down one year ago today. We held a memorial last May, today is about remembrance and about honoring the crew...."
200 people attended at the Spirit 2 helicopter hanger at the campus. Thompson says a keynote was a presentation of a marker to remember the crew...
"The father of Greg Rosenthal had a beautiful stone memorial created with the guy's names on them, Klint, Rico and Greg. We blessed that stone today with Father Aaron Devett of Holy Family Catholic Church in Woodruff. That stone will be placed someone on our campus. It will give us an opportunity to drive by the stone and remember the guys on a daily basis. It's something we're really looking forward to..."
Thompson says the past year brought out a variety of emotions among the team members. He says the Spirit team members have recovered well from the tragedy, but continue to remember the crew as they move forward.
