Alexandria leaders will install a memorial bench next month at Rivergate City Park honoring the 67 people who died in last year’s mid-air collision over the Potomac River.
The City, in partnership with U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8), will install the memorial from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, June 1, in the northeastern area of the park at 2 Montgomery Street in Old Town North. The memorial includes the bench, newly planted trees and a plaque with the names of the 67 victims from American Airlines Flight 5342 and the PAT 25 U.S. Army helicopter.
“This memorial creates a peaceful place for reflection, remembrance, and community connection,” the City said in a press release. “It offers space for families, loved ones, and the broader Alexandria community to gather, honor lives, and support one another.”
Mayor Alyia Gaskins first announced the memorial’s creation with Beyer during a January ceremony honoring the lives of the crash victims, first responders and their families. The ceremony took place on the eve of the crash’s one-year anniversary.
“It is our hope that in love, this place will also be a promise,” Gaskins told the families. “A promise that when you come, you will see new trees to represent your family members, you will feel a sense of peace, and you will know that your loved ones and each of you will forever be in our hearts, and that in your grief, in your times of reflection and in your fight for more accountability, Alexandria will always be with you.”
