WELD COUNTY, Colo. – Sixty-nine years ago Friday, an act of terrorism in the Colorado skies left a painful mark that is still felt today in Weld County.
Scripps News Denver has brought many stories of the tragic bombing of United Flight 629 because so many Coloradans have yet to learn what happened that cold November night in 1955.
There has never been a memorial or marker built to honor the victims, their families, and the community of first responders and citizen heroes who responded to the beet fields where 44 people were killed.
This year, which marks 69 Novembers since that horrific night – and approaching next year’s 70th year since the tragedy, there’s a multi-pronged effort to build permanent memorials and further share the stories of the community and pay tribute to the victims of one of Colorado’s darkest days.
Denver7's coverage of United Flight 629 changed the way courtrooms are covered in Colorado. We continue to share the stories from that dark day many have forgotten.
United Flight 629: Previous Denver7 stories
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The night a son blew up his mother's flight over Colorado United 629 bombing and how Denver7 forever changed court coverage in Colorado A mission to build a memorial to remember the bombing of Flight 629 in Colorado The bombing of United Airlines 629 and a journey to forgivenessIt was just after 7 p.m. on November 1, 1955.
United Airlines Flight 629 was a 4-engine DC 6 passenger aircraft - loaded with crew, passengers, cargo and fuel for the hop from Denver to Portland, Oregon, quickly departed Stapleton Airport to the northwest.
A few minutes later,Stapleton tower controllers noticed a bright flash in the sky, and witnesses near Longmont heard and saw the huge explosion in the night sky. There was little anyone could do as the wreckage rained down onto the Weld County beet fields.
As the recovery efforts continued, the investigation quickly zeroed in on the DC 6’s cargo hold.
The Denver Police Museum eventually had possession of a piece of Flight 629’s mangled fuselage which is now on display at History Colorado.
“This is some pretty heavy gauge metal, and it's just bent and torn to pieces,” said Jason Hanson, chief creative officer at History Colorado. “The force of the explosion, I think really comes through when you look at this.”
Evidence from the crumpled plane fragments helped unfurl John Gilbert Graham’s heinous actions before a Colorado courtroom the year following Flight 629’s demise.
He planted a homemade bomb in his own mother’s suitcase. When that timed bomb detonated above Longmont it killed Daisie King, Graham’s mother, and the 43 other passengers.
“There was a distinct smell of dynamite, so they knew something was wrong right from the get go,” said Michael Hesse, president of the Denver Police Museum. “And when they called Mr. Hoover from the FBI, he instructed them to immediately take all of the luggage and lay it out and pair the luggage with the victims.”
Hesse said despite the fact that the DC 6 exploded in mid air, most of the luggage was somewhat intact.
“Except for one bag – just common sense. The solid police work that went into that, that one bag obviously led them down a path and ultimately allowed them to solve this,” added Hesse.
As the 70th approaches next November, Hesse is one of the community members working to build a permanent memorial to honor Flight 629.
“There wasn't an awareness that this happened. It was largely forgotten,” said Hesse. “I have tried over the last several years to find out exactly why that's the case. And I think part of it – is this happened in 1955 – just 10 years after the end of World War Two, after the Korean War I think that the public was a little more familiar with death.”
Hesse said the plan is to build a memorial outside the entrance of Flyteco Tower, the site of the old Stapleton Airport control tower.
“This is where the plane took off en route to Portland on November 1, 1955 and so having it here – as patrons come in – will hopefully serve as an educational opportunity,” said Hesse. “
The memorial will be in the shape of an airplane fuselage, and it will be pointed northwest, which is the direction that the plane took off from the airport.”
The memorial will include names of the passengers and crew and will also honor the first responders.
“There will be the logos of the various agencies that responded. The FBI, the Denver Police Department, the Denver District Attorney, Weld and Larimer County Sheriff, volunteer firemen, and it'll be the citizens too, we're going to acknowledge that.”
The goal is to dedicate the memorial on November 1, 2025. They hope to get there by inviting the public to purchase Flight 629 challenge coins to help fund the memorial.
“This challenge coin that we've designed to honor the victims will also create greater awareness and also donations so that we can pay for the memorial in front of the tower here,” said Hesse.
The challenge coins will be available for purchase on the Denver Police Museum’s website.
“They were all human beings. There were countless birthdays and anniversaries and things like that that were missed,” said Hesse.” It was this completely senseless tragedy. It breaks your heart, but we want to make sure the families know that their loved ones are not forgotten.”
History Colorado is also doing its part to raise awareness. A special exhibit is planned near the 70th commemoration next November.
“There will be an exhibition here that will help people engage with that story. I think we're going to put it in a really high traffic area, so our hope is that people who aren't familiar with the story, will be caught by it, and want to learn more,” said Hanson. “Our hope, always, is that people see our exhibitions and want to learn more when they leave, that we inspire and spark some curiosity and so that they will go and learn more on their own.”
And as more and more Coloradans learn about the tragedy, Becky Tesone – vice president of the Flight 629 Memorial Committee hopes they will be moved to open their hearts to help finally build a permanent memorial in Weld County as the 70th commemoration approaches.
"They have never had a monument, and they have never had their names read or candles lit for them,” said Tesone. “And so we want to do that, to break open what's going to happen a year from November 1, which is the 70th anniversary of bringing the families back in.”
The vision for a future, permanent memorial in Weld County – where the plane went down – is still in the works, but the details are starting to come together.
“What we picture it to be, will be four sides. One side will have the names on it, two sides will have pictures of places that were all connected,” Tesone said, “Greeley was connected with the armory where the bodies went. Stapleton is where they took off from, and where they went back and reassembled the plane. So that's a key place, that's where FlyteCo currently is.”
She said the hope is to have four benches along the memorial for people to reflect with a covering to protect visitors and the memorial from Colorado’s seasons.
“And we're going to have a two-by-four foot plane made out of bronze on top of it. And that's going to be the beauty of it,” said Tesone. “This was a huge tragedy that changed the laws of the airport for checking our baggage and put in new safety regulations. And then the piece about Channel 7 at the time being the first ones into the courtroom.”
The future memorial will be a place for the families of the victims and those who responded to reflect, gather and heal. And in these divisive times, the Flight 629 Memorial Committee hopes the memorial will serve as a place to lift up the service and sacrifice of first responders, emergency crews and ordinary neighbors whose courage and tenacity are examples of how people can come together.
“We need $30,000 and the goal was by the 31st of this month. I'm sure that Landmark Monument will let us stretch it a little bit, but they need to order what we are going to put on there,” said Tesone. “And we need a total of $150,000 that we could see in the near future just to lay the cement.”
The Flight 629 Memorial Committee – which has registered as a nonprofit – has set up a GoFundMe to raise funds.
“I know there's people out there that can write a check for the whole thing. I know there's people out there that can give us $5, $10 and all of it matters,” said Tesone. “All of it matters because what they put their money into is what they are a part of in their heart. And this is something that the heart needs healing for these people.”
This Friday will mark 69 years since the United Flight 629 explosion. The public is invited to attend a first-ever commemoration which will include a candle lighting, reading of victim’s names and a time to reflect.
'Remember the 44’ is at 6 p.m. at Carbon Valley Lutheran Church at 10916 Cimarron Street in Firestone.
Denver7 will keep you updated on the progress of the memorial and you can connect to the group's efforts through the Flight 629 Memorial Facebook page.
- You can watch this video report in the player below.
