Permanent memorial for 1979 Who concert victims

[Levee]

Permanent memorial for 1979 Who concert victims possible in 2011

CINCINNATI - The idea of building a permanent memorial to the 11 young people who died outside Riverfront Coliseum 31 years ago while waiting to get inside to see The Who perform gained momentum Friday.Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said he's willing to meet with members of The Who Tragedy Memorial Committee to discuss including a memorial as part of planned 2011 renovations to the county-controlled area between what is now U.S. Bank Arena and Great American Ball Park.

That concourse is where thousands of music fans gathered on Dec. 3, 1979, waiting to be first inside the coliseum to get general admission or festival seats closest to the stage.

Two memorials honoring the victims were held Friday. One was on the concourse where 11 lanterns were illuminated for those who died. The second featured numerous speakers at Longworth Hall.

Doors to the coliseum were scheduled to open at 7 p.m. that December night and the concert was supposed to begin at 8 p.m. However, things ran late and the band didn't begin its sound check until 7:10 p.m. Through a few open doors the people outside heard the sound coming from inside the arena, thought the concert had started and began to surge forward. Just as quickly as they had opened, the doors closed, but the crowd didn't stop inching forward. The victims were crushed in the sea of humanity.

Richard Schweitzer of Forest Park, President of The Who Tragedy Memorial Committee, was 19 years old in 1979 and standing right in the middle of the mayhem.

"When the crush started my feet did not touch the ground for at least a couple of hours," Schweitzer said, describing how tightly people were packed together. "I had my arms up to protect my lungs so that I could breathe. I immediately went into survival mode and tried to protect my own life. It kind of seems selfish, but you know what? I didn't become another casualty that night. I'm very grateful to be a survivor."

Schweitzer said that some people were stepped on when they fell, but he wasn't able to help them because he couldn't bend down.

"I felt bad about that," he said. "That's one of the primary reasons I wanted to get involved because I couldn't help them that night, but I can help them now to get this memorial built."

Tom Brown was a 17-year-old high school senior in 1979. He said memories of what happened on Dec. 3 are still with him.

"It's impossible to forget it," the Norwood resident stated. "I've tried for 30 years."

Brown added his most vivid memory is getting into the coliseum lobby then turning around to see where he'd been moments earlier.

"I could see all the faces and hands and arms pressed against the glass and I would hear the screams from the outside of the crowd," Brown said. "I could hear people begging the guards to open more doors."

Newtown's Kasey Ladd has a very personal stake in wanting a permanent memorial constructed. He was 2 years old in 1979 and his mother was one of the 11 victims. Much of what he's learned about her came from her friends as he grew into a man.

"They told me she was a very good human being and had a good heart," Ladd said. "Just an all-around good person."

Ladd said he didn't fully understand the impact of what had happened until he became a teenager and started going to concerts himself.

"Even though I was not there, just knowing what happened, I still have problems when I'm in a large group of people," he said. "It's something that don't go away. Even though how much you want it to go, it don't go away."

It's for people like Ladd and his mother that Michael Babb of Dayton, Ohio, wants to see the memorial become a reality.

"They were young kids going to a concert to enjoy themselves listening to music," Babb said. "They had no reason to perish. So, in the memory of them and their families and everybody that's been through this, it's very important for us to remember that it was a tragedy, but in the end let's build something nice that we can all come back to and still have our vigils every year so we will never forget."

Copyright 2010 The E.W. Scripps Co.

[TypeO]

I'll never forget seeing one of the most tasteless t-shirts ever (at least at the time), sometime after this tragedy -

a t-shirt with footprints all over the front that said "I'd walk over you to see The Who".

[Jahfin]

I remember a similar shirt but I believe the footprints were on the back and it said something like "I Survived the Who Concert in Cincinnati". A friend of mine that's a Who fan used to wear one. Rather than being disrespectful I believe he was using dark humor as a way of coping with the tragedy.

Back in the day, Nantucket, a local (NC) band that could be right out of Almost Famous offered up this poignant take on the tragic events of that sad day in Cincinnati.

[SteveAJones]

Perhaps counseling for the survivors would do far more good than a memoral to the dead? Just a thought.

[Levee]

I remember a similar shirt but I believe the footprints were on the back and it said something like "I Survived the Who Concert in Cincinnati". A friend of mine that's a Who fan used to wear one. Rather than being disrespectful I believe he was using dark humor as a way of coping with the tragedy.

I've always used dark humor in situations like this, so I get what you're saying .But in this case it was way to close and I was mortified when I heard about those shirts. Too much verismo for me.