Remembering Pan Am 103
On December 21, 2018, the 30th anniversary of the Pan Am 103 tragedy, Delta Tau Delta shared a story noting two Delts were among the 270 killed when Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. All 259 people on board and 11 on the ground died after a bomb planted by terrorists exploded at 31,000 feet. The news item stated victims included Stephen Boland and Peter Peirce, but sadly three Delts were killed that day.
Previously not documented by the Fraternity was the death of Bill Daniels (Emory University, 1970). Daniels earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Penn State and worked for American Cyanamid. He was returning from a conference in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England on the day of the terrorist attack. His widow has organized remembrances in Lockerbie, and at the Scotland Cairn in Arlington National Cemetery, which features a stone monument to the 270 victims. Each stone on the cairn bears the name of one who was lost.
Stephen Boland (Syracuse University, 1990) pledged Delt at Syracuse in the fall of 1986. He served as philanthropy chairman during the 1987-1988 academic year, gaining notice when the chapter, under his leadership, raised more than $4,000 in a two-night fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation. He was among the 35 Syracuse exchange students returning home after a semester abroad in London.
Peter R. Peirce (Ohio State University, 1971), a well-known Toledo architect was returning from advanced studies in architecture in Italy through a Syracuse University program. One of Peirce’s close friends, Tom Calhoon (Ohio State University, 1970) recalls the last time he and many other Delt friends saw Peirce at a surprise birthday party organized by their wives in August 1988. “With the exception of a chapter brother who went to visit Peter in Italy, that was the last time any of us saw Peter alive,” said Calhoon
