- Feb 5, 2002
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ARLINGTON, Va. (OSV News) — They are silent sentinels.
Painted a somber, stormy ocean blue, others an earthy olive drab, and some still bare wood and awaiting color, dozens of simple crosses — each standing several feet high — are arrayed in orderly rows, with small, bright floral decorations attached to each.
They’re planted in a nearly frozen patch of gently sloping ground across the highway from the end of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Runway 33 — which late on Jan. 29, American Eagle Flight 5342 was seconds from safely reaching when it instead collided with a U.S. Army helicopter. Both aircraft plunged, in pieces, into the icy Potomac River.
By the afternoon of Feb. 2, there were 67 crosses standing under a leaden gray sky — one for each victim from the Washington aviation disaster, 64 on the jet and three crew on the helicopter. Names will also be added to the crosses, crafted with concerned diligence by Dallas-based Roberto Marquez, a self-trained, immigrant artist originally from Mexico.
He first crossed the U.S. border at age 15 to work in the produce fields of California. Marquez — now 62 — was deported, returned, found stable construction employment, became a citizen, and eventually established a real estate business.
In 2018, he decided to devote himself to painting, including large scale murals.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
Painted a somber, stormy ocean blue, others an earthy olive drab, and some still bare wood and awaiting color, dozens of simple crosses — each standing several feet high — are arrayed in orderly rows, with small, bright floral decorations attached to each.
They’re planted in a nearly frozen patch of gently sloping ground across the highway from the end of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Runway 33 — which late on Jan. 29, American Eagle Flight 5342 was seconds from safely reaching when it instead collided with a U.S. Army helicopter. Both aircraft plunged, in pieces, into the icy Potomac River.
By the afternoon of Feb. 2, there were 67 crosses standing under a leaden gray sky — one for each victim from the Washington aviation disaster, 64 on the jet and three crew on the helicopter. Names will also be added to the crosses, crafted with concerned diligence by Dallas-based Roberto Marquez, a self-trained, immigrant artist originally from Mexico.
He first crossed the U.S. border at age 15 to work in the produce fields of California. Marquez — now 62 — was deported, returned, found stable construction employment, became a citizen, and eventually established a real estate business.
In 2018, he decided to devote himself to painting, including large scale murals.
Creating spaces for people to grieve and remember tragedies
Continued below.
Field of crosses: Immigrant artist's memorial to DC air disaster victims a call to love
Artist Roberto Marquez creates memorial crosses for victims of the DC plane crash, offering a space for collective grief and unity.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
