Memorial Celebrates Miners' Lives
Every time Jackie Weaver boarded a mine car for his ride into the earth, he scrawled a message in the coal dust with his finger: Jesus Saves.
Jim Bennett, his colleague in the Sago Mine, was so devout that the message on his answering machine ends with the question, "Do you know the Lord as your savior?"
If there was a tie that connected the 12 men who died after a Jan. 2 explosion it was their faith, the same thing celebrated Sunday by nearly 2,000 people during a memorial service.
"To the human eye, there is no place darker than a coal mine," said Pastor Dennis Estes, of Buckhannon Union Mission Church. "But to our God, nothing is dark. These men were not beyond the reach of God's love in the depth of that coal mine."
Pastor Ed McDaniels, of Christian Fellowship Church in Buckhannon, described each miner during a heart-wrenching photo montage that showed the men as they were in life, being baptized in a pond, dressed in camouflage for hunting, holding their children, grandchildren and wives. In one photo, Marshall Winans is clutching his dog, Reno, so beloved it was listed as a survivor in his obituary.
They also loved hunting, fishing, NASCAR and laughter. Fireboss Terry Helms, killed instantly in the explosion, was a prankster who used to hide his crew's lunch pails just for a giggle. And Alva Martin Bennett, who attended McDaniels' church, "was a good ol' boy, never meaning no harm."
He smiled when the crowd at the West Virginia Wesleyan College chapel laughed. "That's the best way to describe him," McDaniels said.
Several speakers recounted the anxious hours of waiting after the accident, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston , but there was no mention of the painful episode when families were first told all 12 had survived only to learn that
Pastor Wease Day, who sheltered, prayed and sang with the families at Sago Baptist Church through their torturous wait for news, believes he knows how the miners spent their final hours.
"I'm sure there was a prayer meeting goin' on in that ol' coal mine the other evening like we've never seen before," Day said. "I can hear Jim Bennett hollerin' 'Boys, you need the Lord in your life.' And I can hear (George) Junior Hamner say 'Does anybody got any cards? Let's play a round."'
The explosion occurred as the crew prepared to reopen the mine after a holiday break. Investigators have yet to re-enter the mine or determine exactly what went wrong. Though Helms died immediately, notes that some miners left behind show the others died slowly, falling asleep in the carbon monoxide as they waited 260 feet below ground for rescue.
"We cannot know the purpose of this tragedy," said Gov. Joe Manchin, "but I pledge to you we will determine the cause."
On Sunday, doctors upgraded the sole survivor's condition from critical to serious, but 26-year-old Randal McCloy remained in intensive care. His heart and liver functions have improved and he has been breathing on his own, but doctors at West Virginia University's Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown said he still faced serious medical issues, including impaired kidney function. He has not regained consciousness, and doctors believe he suffered some brain damage from his exposure to carbon monoxide gas.
There was no change in his condition overnight, the hospital said Monday.
McCloy's wife, Anna, attended the two-hour memorial service and was the first family member to light one of 13 honor candles, 12 white, one red, and accept a statue of a coal miner from first lady Gayle Manchin.
David Blevins made the trip to West Virginia from his home in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Blevins quit working in the mines after his father was among 13 miners killed in the Sept. 23, 2001, explosion at the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 mine.
"We know exactly what they're going through. What they're feeling and what they will be feeling," Blevins said. "Grief, agony and very angry. And I'm sure hate will go through their hearts. It will take time for that to heal."
On the college campus, a few miles from the mine, family members wore white ribbons bearing the words "Sago 2006." More ribbons were tied to trees and light poles, and sheets that had been spray-painted with the words: "God bless Sago miners" hung from windows of a nearby dormitory.
Outside the church, a miner's helmet sat atop a wooden cross. In a nearby memory tent, photographs of the miners were affixed to easels, and a community shaken by the accident was encouraged to leave personal messages for the families.
"God definitely has 12 more angels," read a note next to a photo of killed miner Jesse Jones. "God bless you all."
Another urged Groves, "enjoy heaven 'til we get there."