The memory of Munich lingers

Press, 11 February 1983, Page 17

The memory of Munich lingers

There's nothing there now. Just a patch of grass where once houses stood. But Rudolf Heidenreich will never forget the spot where. 25 years ago last Sunday, he battled in a snowstorm to save the pride of English football from the flaming wreckage of a crashed aircraft. Then a 34-year-old fireman at Munich’s Riem airport, he remembers watching nervously as the British aircraft carrying the celebrated Manchester United side home from their European Cup quarter-final triumph over Red Star Belgrade, roared along the snowbound runway on its third attempt to take off after refuelling. It was mid-afternoon on February 6, 1958. a date etched on Heidenreich’s memory, for he was the first on the’scene after the aircraft had ploughed through a perimeter fence, smashed into a house and burst into flames. Eight players were either killed or fatally' injured along with 15 other passengers and crew. “In 50 years, I could never forget what I saw on that

day, the screaming and the cries for help,” he recalled, looking out across the airfield. “I couldn’t sleep for three days afterwards. It was a terrible human tragedy, quite apart from the loss to soccer." The Munich air crash shook the world and deprived Britain of some of its greatest and most promising soccer talent. To mark the occasion, the current United side wore black armbands during its match at Ipswich on Saturday — ironically the last side to play at United’s Old Trafford home before the disaster. A memorial church service was held on Sunday, the exact anniversary, for players, club officials and invited guests. United is also due to meet Red Star in Belgrade in March — the date has yet to be confirmed — in another tribute to those who died. The disaster ravaged the United side. Of the team that beat Ipswich on January 25, 1958, only two. Bill Foulkes and Harry Gregg, played in the first" game after the

crash just 15 days later. Incredibly, United, with nine changes, beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 in a fifth round FA Cup tie. The death toll, engraved on a plaque over the main entrance of Old Trafford, included the captain. Roger Byrne, an international centre-forward. Tommy Taylor, and England’s brightest rising star. Duncan Edwards. But two of the survivors, the manager. Matt Busby, and Bobby Charlton, became legends in the English game. Charlton, who had just begun to establish himself in the side, went on to win 106 caps for England in a celebrated career which included a World Cup winners’ medal in 1966. But he rarely talks publicly about his experiences on that February afternoon. Busby had spent years moulding his young team, known as the “Busby babes.” into a side that looked set to conquer Europe. The disaster wiped out over half his side - and left him on the brink of death for three months v

But he recovered to lead United to its greatest achievement 10 years later when it beat Benfica of Portugal, 4-1, to become the first English club to win th<European Cup. In a recent interview. Busby said: “The pain never really goes. At this time of year, you're perhaps writing a letter or making out a cheque and there's the date — the back end of January, the early days of February — and your mind goes back. “This year being the 25th anniversary, it’s been worse. You’re asked for countless interviews, television and radio appearances," he said. The goalkeeper, Gregg, was given a living reminder of the crash when he was reunited with a 27-year-old Yugoslav, Vesna Lutic, in Britain last month. Gregg, now assistant manager of a first division club, Swansea City, had not met Vesna since he rescued her as a two-year-old baby from the blazing wreckage. Dazed and bleeding. Gregg had dived back into the aircraft to save the baby and her pregnant mother. Vesna was overcome with emotion

at the reunion. “I just want to hold his hand. I know how much I owe him, although I was too young to know what was happening at the time." she said. The pilot, James Thain, survived the crash but died in 1975 at the age of 53. having failed in a long campaign to clear his name with the West German authorities. A local inquiry blamed the crash on failure to de-ice the wings before the final takeoff attempt. But the fire officer, Heidenreich, paid tribute to Thain as he recalled the first minutes of the rescue operation. "He was the first person I saw standing next to the wreck when I arrived. He was extremely cool and very English about the whole thing and his actions saved a lot of lives,” he said. But the lives that were lost robbed United of momentum for more than a decade. And there was no greater loss to the club — or English football — than Duncan Edwards. When he boarded the aircraft in Munich at the age of 21. Edwards had played

more than 200 times for his club and been capped 18 times by England. His potential was immense. Byrne, a full-back, and Taylor, who also perished, had won 33 and 19 England caps respectively. United, who had won the league title in 1956 and 1957. battled on after the disaster with virtually a reserve team running out to emotional scenes at Old Trafford. Their determination to recover carried them to the final of the FA Cup just weeks after the disaster. But the depleted side, with the nation’s sympathy willing it on, was beaten 2-0 by Bolton Wanderers. Since then, despite a season in the second division. United — probably the most famous English side — has remained among the most powerful in the league. There are no memorials at Munich airport to mark the day a whole footballing generation died. But that winters day in the middle of the city's carnival season will long be remembered. NZPA-Reuter