Local youth figure skaters hold their hands over their hearts at center ice during the playing of the National Anthem in honor of the young figure skaters and other passengers who lost their lives in the crash of American Eagle Flight 5342.
250131-A-OH563-5180.JPG Photo By: Lt. Col. Bradford Leighton

Springfield, Ill. - Local youth figure skaters hold their hands over their hearts at center ice during the playing of the National Anthem in honor of the young figure skaters and other passengers who lost their lives in the crash of American Eagle Flight 5342. The North American Hockey League game between the Springfield (IL) Junior Blues and the Janesville (WI) Jets in Springfield, Illinois, on Jan. 31 offered a moment of silence for those 67 killed in the tragic accident. The grandchildren of Illinois Army National Guard Fallen Soldier Staff Sgt. Paul Smith made the official puck drop for the game. Staff Sgt. Smith of Peoria, Ill. was killed in action on June 19, 2009 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Junior Blues also hosted the family of fallen U.S. Army Soldier Master Sgt. David Rawlings. The event was arranged by the Survivor Outreach Services, the official Army program designed to provide long-term support to Families of fallen Soldiers.


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