After 40 years, first responders and families share memories of deadly jet explosion

On March 19, 1982, a KC-135 military jet exploded midair over Greenwood, just northeast of Woodstock, killing 27 members of the U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. The debris field stretched all the way to Wisconsin.

Fire first responder Peter Diedrich wasn’t immediately at the crash site, but he was one of the firefighters tasked with getting bodies out of the cockpit, which he described as “gruesome” and scarring to this day.

“That’s the PTSD that I share,” Diedrich said of the episode. “I’ve seen a lot in 33 years, but this one is stamped in my mind. We internalize this stuff. We see it, but don’t talk about it.”

Now, 40 years later, for the first time Diedrich was able to meet with a family member of the deceased: Brian Nicosia, whose father, Capt. Robert Nicosia of Algonquin, was co-pilot of the downed plane.

Diedrich and Nicosia weren’t the only ones who spoke together; a memorial gathering on Saturday for the anniversary brought together dozens of first responders and family members of the deceased. For many, it was the first time they had communicated with one another.

As people were able to share their experiences, it brought a sense of closure that can help heal longstanding emotional wounds, said Wonder Lake Fire Chief Mike Weber, the last active member of the fire department who was with them when the crash happened.

“I don’t think the tragedy has left anybody’s mind,” Weber said. “But I am glad this was put together. We as fireman and first responders, we met a lot of the family members, and have been conversing with them for the past month and a half. We have a lot of their stories and they have a lot of our stories, they learned a lot and we learned a lot. It was nice to share that.”

Marcia Jarecki and Mary Olczyk, two widows of men who died in the crash, along with the Wonder Lake Fire Department, held a day of remembrance at Wonder Lake Fire Station 2. Two representatives from the U.S. Air Force, Sgt. Neil Samson and POC Ken Stevens, also were in attendance, as well as Dan Cox, a pastor at Wonder Lake Bible Church.

Wes Woodin, who now lives with his family in Oklahoma, said he hadn’t been to the crash site since it first happened. He was just eight years old at the time, he said.

“It brings back a lot of memories,” Woodin said. “It feels like there’s closure now to an extent, but it’s never fully closed because my father is gone.”

Several family members had gathered for a small service recognizing the crash’s 30th anniversary, but Jarecki said it was not nearly as large as this gathering. Jarecki credited Wonder Lake Fire Chief Mike Weber, the only fireman still active who served during the crash 40 years ago, for helping organize the event, and for how the event was able to be broadcast via social media.

Steve Olzcyk, the son of Mary Olczyk and the late Stephen, said he was very happy to see the crowd that came out; the fire station was packed with almost 100 people to hear the speakers. Steve and his wife, Julie, said it was not until this anniversary that’d they’d spoken with first responders and understood how it was a tragedy for them too.

Mary Olczyk said that she and Jarecki were “like twins” and shared a special bond, and also become very close friends with former McHenry County coroner Marlene Lantz, who was tasked with meeting the victims’ families after the crash. Lantz, who did not become coroner until 1988, died in 2017.

Jarecki said Lantz was “extremely compassionate” at the time and helped inform families about their loved ones when the military was less forthcoming about what had happened.

The days immediately after the crash involved a disaster cleanup that was unprecedented for the area. The initial firefighting crews drove the fire truck into the swampy crash site, where it got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out later, Weber said. A fire crew from O’Hare International Airport had to come “screaming down I-90,″ Diedrich said, in order to provide equipment to deal with jet fuel fires. The local fire department worked with the military and police over the next three days to keep looters away.

A local gas station temporarily was converted into a morgue, Jarecki said.

“The horrors the first responders saw and what was required of them will stay with them the rest of their lives,” Jarecki said. “We know what our families have experienced and 40 years later, we have learned what this community endured.”

If there was a silver lining to the episode, it was that the plane crashed into an empty field and not the middle of Greenwood or Wonder Grove, Jarecki said. Nobody on the ground was injured or killed as a result of the plane crash.

Diedrich said that if the plane was in the air for mere seconds longer, there could have been additional fatalities from landing in a populated area.

Jarecki, whose husband’s body was the last to be found, said memories of the crash will “always be there,” but the sense of tragedy has eased some over the years. Neither Jarecki nor Mary Olczyk remarried after the crash.

“Some memories are beautiful, some are sad,” Mary Olczyk said. “But memories are what life is all about. The memories of that day 40 years ago are so vivid. Our memories of our loved ones will never die if we recognize the day. There are no dictionaries that could describe the appreciation and love here today that I have for those who came out today.”

During the remembrance, the names of the 27 deceased were read and a bell was rung. A military flyover honoring the occasion was scheduled to take place in the afternoon. It was canceled because of weather.

“Why would March 19, 1982, be any different than March 19, 2022?” Jarecki said. “It’s the same weather. So it is what it is.”

Despite the flyover not happening, Jarecki said the event went “beyond my expectations.”

The names of those who died in the crash:

The Crew from the 126th Air Refueling Wing:

Maj. William S. Dixon

Capt. Robert J. Nicosia

Capt. Kenneth L. Herrick

Master Sgt. Richard A. Crome

The U.S. Air Force Reserve Personnel:

Senior Airman Spyridon Agriopoulos

Master Sgt. James A. Alexander Jr.

Sgt. Frank C. Badoni

Senior Airman Frank Barbarini

Airman First Class Joe L. Branch

Staff Sgt. Eugene W. Grygiel

Senior Airman Huanani Holt

Sgt. Kenneth J. Jarecki

Airman First Class Orval D. Jones

Airman Carlos R. Melendez

Sgt. Steven J. Olczyk

Airman First Class John A. Powell

Sgt. Augustine J. Salinas

Staff Sgt. Jose Sandoval-Garcia

Staff Sgt. James A. Vance III

Staff Sgt. Ronald A. Walker

Airman Basic Anita Walton

Master Sgt. Frederic C. Wilhoit

Technical Sgt. Allen R. Woodin

Staff Sgt. John Lee Woolridge

Capt. J.C. Patton

Maj. Richard A. Stark

Capt. Richard W. Sunderman