European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday August 28,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9over Here. Lynix after extensive medical treatment and counselling William Granflor is no longer haunted by horrific memories of the air show disaster. ,. It 1t� a a a f vhf i f a a a a i a a 1 a git or 1 a r a l-i1 a of to a font a Kiln afew air i-.x-, i. despite lingering problems from injuries he received in the air show disaster its work As usual for sgt. Alexander i Irona who holds a schematic Board for sgt. David Black at Kleber Cavern in air show horror slowly fading by Deedee Arrington Doke Kaiserslautern Bureau Ramstein a West Germany a today will be just like any other school Day for William Granflor. The 11-year-old with the Toothy Cheeky Grin will be settling into his new sixth Grade class groaning about Homework and making new friends. A few will notice the Burn Sears on his arms. In Kaiserslautern. Army sgt. Alexander 1 Irona a will work today supervising other soldiers in repairing Power Genera Don. Equipment at Kleber Cavern. His Limp slight and stiff legged Calls Little attention to itself. A. A Day like any other Day a but for Many a Dale that will Alwy Force their memories Back to a warm sunday two years ago when the gleam of italian jets burst into hellfire at Ramstein a. Quot i can never forget aug. 28, 1988,�?� said Tirona whose leg was badly broken in the air show disaster. Seventy people were killed and hundreds including . And Tirona were injured when three italian air Force jets collided during a complicated Man Euver at the Ramstein a air show and one careened into the crush of spectators. About 300,000 people attended the air spectacular which was a 25-year-old tradition at the air base. Two years later no decision has been made As to which countries a the United slates West Germany and Italy a will pay what percentage of the disasters damages. No air shows involving stunt or acrobatic flying have been held in West Germany in two years. Nothing has been done about possible changes in German Laws regarding air shows a German defense ministry spokesman said last week. He refused to predict when such changes would be completed. And this year memorial observances will be muted compared with a weekend of demonstrations counter demonstrations and a major religious service that accompanied the first anniversary. Ramstein a will quietly observe the occasion at 9 . Today with a Wreath laying ceremony at the disaster memorial behind Chapel i. Even for the injured and their families the pain is fading. A we have to accept it a said Frances Gru fior .�?Ts Mother. A we want to close the Book and go ., whose father is tech sgt. Guillermo Gran fior suffered third degree bums on 20 percent of his today Frances Granflor describes her son As a a Normal despite scarring reminders of his serious injuries frown the collision of three jets. A hopefully hell forget the pain. We have to accept it. We want to close the Book and go body and spent about six weeks at Lan Stuhl army regional medical Center near Kaiserslautern after the disaster. His fourth Grade classmates sent him a get Well video and cards during his stay. By a cruel coincidence among his classmates was the daughter of army capt. Kim Strader a helicopter Pilot who died of his injuries from the Ramstein disaster. The two families had once been neighbors. Today . Still undergoes plastic surgery for his Burns but he jokes about his treatment two years ago in the physical therapy part of the Hospital. In View the initials it stand for a Spain and torture because of the painful but necessary treatment called debridement in which doctors scrub away damaged skin. He no longer is in counselling for disaster related worries and nightmares about the event faded Long ago. He is not afraid of air planes and aspires to be a stealth fighter Pilot. The Granflor family including ., has adjusted better to the boys injuries than some of his Peers have. A kids tease me a lot a he said. A they Call me a Burnt biscuits or a Burnt Fried it does t bother me though. When they Call me that i say a what if this happened to you a Alast year Tirona 29, wanted to observe the one year anniversary by going out to the Accident site with friends. A i wanted to see How far 1 crawled looking for help. But they authorities would t let me Quot said Tirona assigned to cod 1st signal in a. Tirona who is from the same philippine province As finances Granflor spent 18 Uysal i amps Tui after the disaster. He had three operations Lor his broken leg. The last one was several Mouths ago and lie ended his physical therapy Iasi month. A a it a not hugging me too much. Put it i can to run too Good and it hurts to Cross my legs to sit comfortably a Tirona said. A he worries that the leg May eventually Cost him his army career. A if this thing starts bothering me it Means i wont be Able to pass my it physical training test and that a it Quot Tirona said. Psychologically a few reminders of the horror pop up from time to time. He once was Halfway to the Airport to get on a plane when he had to turn Hack too afraid to get on Board. Another time he got drunk for what was his first Post disaster air plane flight. A i done to drink that much but i did no to want to feel the pain if the plane went like that a he said using his hand to imitate a plane crashing into the ground. Several things can trigger anxieties a plane explosion in the Bruce Willis movie a die hard 2,�?� planes flying overhead and sometimes even a drive in the car. A especially when in a in the car 1 always assume there a going to be an Accident. Sometimes i think what happens if that car hits me will j go Back to the Hospital and will my friends Corne to see me Quot Tirona said. But those instances happen less often now for Tirona. And life is steadily improving for ., who bowls plays soccer and has sat in an e-16 Falcon fighters cockpit More than once. A a he a Normal a Frances Granflor said of her son. A hopefully hell forget the
