JohnA: Loss Of Young Life Tough

JohnA: I know the feeling of losing a friend underground, too, Bent. We were on Spring Break from the U of I, re-railing the No. 1 Shaft at Bunker when a colleague from our college crew fell a thousand feet down it. He was only 19. I think about him a lot, especially this time of year. Then, later that year, a college kid from our crew was walking out of the mine (not allowed) when he was hit by an ore train coming in. I remember two things from that: having to search the ‘piss ditch’ (the water running out of the mine) the next day in case anything was still missing, and reading a letter from his grieving mother asking if anyone knew why it happened. Loss of life is always tough, but when it’s a young life, and someone you worked next to every shift, it’s especially tough.

Question: Did any of your high school or college friends or classmates die much too young?