November 20th, 2024 by WCBC Radio
An annual memorial service in Mannington, West Virginia remembered the 78 lives lost in the Farmington mine disaster in November of 1968. Several explosions and a fire trapped the miners in the Number 9 Mine of the Consolidated Coal Company. Nineteen miners remain entombed in the mine. Speakers at the event included United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts who called the victims heroes because their sacrifice changed mining safety practices…
“Because of their sacrifice, we got the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act. It’s saved thousands of people’s lives.”
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin also saluted the coal miners…
“These are the most patriotic people. They’ve answered the call. They’ve never complained. They have fought in any war and all that and also they’ve produced all the energy that our country’s ever needed to build the country.”
