WELD COUNTY, Colo. – At a county commissioner’s meeting last week, a tight-knit group of citizens – on a mission to honor the sacrifices and pay tribute to victims of one of Colorado’s darkest days – thanked leaders for recognizing history, but also implored them to do more.
“70 years is a long, long time, and the families are finally getting a little respect for what happened to him at night during the whole process,” said an emotional Conrad Hopp.Just a teen on November 1, 1955, Conrad was sitting down for supper with his then-girlfriend and future wife, Martha, when at around 7 p.m., a loud explosion rocked the house.
“We thought some of the windows were even coming in and we jumped up and ran outside, the ball of fire was coming through the sky and the motors were wild and revved up. You just knew it was an airplane,” Conrad told Denver7.
It was at that moment, a 4-engine DC-6, United flight 629, exploded overhead and rained down wreckage across miles of Weld County land…