Nebraska

Nebraska veteran finally laid to rest after 50 years

Published

1 year ago

June 5, 2023

Nebraska veteran finally laid to rest after 50 years

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – At Lincoln Memorial Cemetery dozens of people came together to pay their respects to Larry Zich, a young man who died when a helicopter he was riding in went down in Vietnam.

The gathering and goodbyes was 51 years in the making. After finally being accounted for last year, friends, family and those who served alongside Zich gathered to say farewell and finally lay him to rest.

On April 3, 1972, Zich, a Chief Warrant Officer 3 who served as a Huey Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam, was a co-pilot on a helicopter with the 37th Signal Batallion that was sent out for a rescue support mission.

“We were we were supposed to pick up this crew from this radio stick repeater station, because the north Vietnamese were invading,” Bill Case, who served in the Army alongside Zich in Vietnam, said. “That was our mission to destroy a lot of radio equipment and get those guys out of there.”

But during the flight, the pilot of the helicopter got lost in bad weather and when the helicopter couldn’t be located, the crew including Zich and three others, were reported missing.

Zich, who was born in South Dakota but was raised in Lincoln, died at just 24 years old.

Case said he would have been on that flight but he had orders to go home that day.

“Most of us were in 19, 20, 18. Yeah, it was a bunch of kids and expensive machines and lots of explosives,” Case said.

Sixteen years later, a Vietnamese refugee turned over human remains of nine individuals that died in an aircraft crash to the defense intelligence agency.

Then on Oct. 25, 2022, Zich was identified among those remains by using dental and DNA analysis.

“We’ve come from different parts of the united states and spent over 50 years. Thank god there was some something found for the family for their closure,” Mike Smith, who served in the Army alongside Zich in Vietnam, said.

More than a half a century later Zich’s family was visibly emotional as he was laid to rest.

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Nebraska

A chance of rain/thunderstorms to start the week across Greater Nebraska

Published

2 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

A chance of rain/thunderstorms to start the week across Greater Nebraska

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) – For our Sunday we saw partly cloudy and breezy; some isolated t-storms are possible with highs staying near 77. Monday we keep partly cloudy skies with another chance of afternoon/evening showers/t-storms; hotter with highs near 89.

Spring like weather day to finish the weekend across Greater Nebraska.(Maxuser | Justin Craft)

Tuesday should be mainly dry with partly cloudy skies; still warm with highs near 85. Wednesday partly cloudy skies with highs near 88, with a slight chance of rain/thunderstorms after 1 pm and a chance of rain/thunderstorms for the night.

A chance of rain/thunderstorms for Wednesday across Greater Nebraska.(Maxuser | Justin Craft)

Thursday mostly sunny skies and a slight chance of rain/thunderstorms during the night, highs near 83. Then for Friday we’ll be mostly sunny but dry; highs remain in the low-mid 80s.

Mostly sunny skies return for Thursday and Friday across Greater Nebraska.(Maxuser | Justin Craft)

Saturday mostly sunny and highs near 89. Next Sunday highs near 90 and mostly sunny skies.

An active start to the week and then nice weather to finish across Greater Nebraska.(Maxuser | Justin Craft)

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Nebraska

Nebraska Considers Putting Fans' Ashes Under Football Field

Published

9 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska Considers Putting Fans' Ashes Under Football Field

A University of Nebraska regent has proposed a way for lifelong Cornhusker fans to carry their support into the afterlife. When Memorial Stadium undergoes its next renovation, the AP reports that Regent Barbara Weitz of Omaha suggested building a columbarium under the football field where departed fans can have their ashes inurned. The idea might be dead on arrival. Her fellow regents laughed at the proposal. Weitz acknowledged she made her pitch light-heartedly but didn’t think any proposal should be dismissed out of hand with the university facing a $58 million budget shortfall. The price for niches, where cremation urns are stored, could vary depending on location, with a spot under the 50-yard line or end zone sold at a premium. Revenue, she said, would go to academics.

“One thing I know best about Nebraska is … we really do love our sports teams,” Weitz says. “It’s part of being a Nebraskan. So why wouldn’t being buried under the field be a great way to be close to your team forever? So it was kind of a combination of needing money, talking about ways to get it, and then kind of trying to say let’s use our imaginations.” Fans wishing to scatter a loved one’s ashes at their favorite team’s stadium is not unheard of and there are columbariums and other fan memorials at soccer, rugby, and horse racing venues in Europe. There are cemeteries and columbariums at Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and military academies that are unaffiliated with sports.

The passion of fans makes sports-themed columbariums a natural, said Colm Hannon, founder of an Ireland-based business that creates fan memorials in Europe. “I think many families realize the fan’s spiritual home was the stadium,” Hannon said. “It was the place they had the best memories. It’s somewhere they would much rather go to remember their loved one than a graveyard… If you want to be mourned, choose a graveyard. If you want to be celebrated, choose a sports ground.” Nebraska Regent Paul Kenney says he found Weitz’s proposal “somewhat entertaining” but says her idea is “not in my top 1,000” possible budget solutions. Regent Jack Stark, the Huskers’ team psychologist from 1989-2004, said over the years he has had people tell him a loved one’s dying wish was to have their ashes sprinkled on the field. “I do think there would be a market for it,” Stark says.

(More University of Nebraska stories.)

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Top recruit in the state of Nebraska commits to Florida State

Published

16 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Top recruit in the state of Nebraska commits to Florida State

In the recruiting world, things can change at a moment’s notice. A little over a week ago, Cornhuskers Wire reported that Chase Loftin, the top high school player in Nebraska, was projected to commit to the Cornhuskers.

That changed Saturday evening when Loftin announced his commitment to the Florida State Seminoles. He chose FSU over Nebraska, Missouri, and Texas A&M.

The tight end told 247Sports that the people at Florida State made the difference in his decision.

“Florida State is home for me because of the people. All the coaches showed tons of love. I think it is a place to win a Natty.”

Loftin is a 6-foot-5, 213-pound tight end for Millard South High School out of Omaha, Nebraska. Over the last two seasons, he’s appeared in 22 games and has 73 receptions for 1,017 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Nebraska’s tight end room is incredibly deep heading into the 2024 season and beyond. With names such as Thomas Fidone II, Carter Nelson, and Ismael Smith Flores, big things are expected from that position group this year.