MONTOURSVILLE-- In the aftermath of the crash of TWA Flight 800, people from all over the world reached out to the community of Montoursville.
Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of the day TWA Flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island, New York.
A group of cheerleaders from New Jersey and their coach made their first trip to Montoursville in 1996, and the group has made the five-hour trip each year since then.
Skip Pulcrano and Heather Harris share a hug in front of the TWA Flight 800 memorial in Montoursville. Looking back, the two never should have met. Heather was a cheerleader for Montoursville Area High School in 1996. Skip is a cheerleading coach in Brick, New Jersey and heard an explosion outside his house on July 17, 1996.
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"I felt something was wrong. I went back and sat in front of the TV and thought something would pop up in about 15, 20 minutes and sure enough it did about the crash," Pulcrano said.
The crash was TWA Flight 800.
Skip and his all-star cheerleading squad "ShoreCheer" had never heard of Montoursville, but knew they had to be here. Especially when they heard two of the plane crash victims were cheerleaders. The girls from New Jersey brought the squad from Montoursville these megaphones signed by cheerleaders from all over the country.
"When you look at the megaphones, some are from Miami, some are from New York," Harris said.
1996 wasn't the only year Skip and his cheerleaders came to Montoursville. They've been coming here every year since.
"They felt so good about doing it they thought, let's do it again, let's do it again, let's do it again. It's become a tradition. We do this every year," Pulcrano said.
Skip has been a cheerleading coach for 46 years. He is retiring on July 17 because after all these years, that date holds a special place in his heart, too.
"I can think of no other event that we've done that means more to the team," Pulcrano said.
But Skip and his cheerleaders, who had no prior connection to Montoursville still plan to make the trip every year to hold a flag ceremony at the memorial and hand out flowers to Montoursville residents.
"I just think it shows his true personality and character," Harris said.
"As long as I can crawl I will always be here on the 17th. It becomes a part of your life after a while. You just have to be here," Pulcrano said.
