Lockerbie, Scotland: Air Disaster Memorial

On December 21, 1988, a Pan American flight took off from London on its way to New York City. There were 259 passengers and crew - including 35 students from Syracuse University who had finished a semester abroad program. 

They never made it home. Terrorists planted a bomb in a suitcase, which blew up less than an hour after takcoff. All of the people on the airplane died, as well as 12 residents of Lockerbie, Scotland - where the explosion took place. Debris landed in an 845-square mile area. The Age of Terrorism had taken a dramatic step.

The criminal trail eventually led to some Libyans, and that country eventually accepted responsibility for the attack. It paid almost $3 billion to the families of the victims. 

Flight 103 won't be forgotten any time soon, in part because it meant a new era of actions had begun. A memorial cairn, donated by Scotland, is located at Arlington National Cemetery, and Syracuse University has a similar tribute in the middle of its campus. 

Lockerbie, the somewhat innocent bystander to all of us, has its own tributes. There's one where the nose of the aircraft landed, which is where the local fatalities took place. A second is in the Town Hall in the form of a memorial window.

But the main memorial is in this cemetery. It's good to know the area is well tended. The monument is a large one, because much space was needed for all the names.  A Visitors' Centre wasn't open during our visit, but it does contain a few rooms with information about the disaster. 

It was a sobering moment in an otherwise happy vacation trip.