On March 15, 2025, UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Brian Sanson attended the Willow Grove memorial service outside Nelms, OH. International District 31 Vice President Mike “Biggin” Payton emceed the memorial service before more than a hundred attendees, including family members of the 72 miners killed in the tragedy in 1940.
“We gather here and at other places like it in the coalfields every year so that we can pay our respects to those lost and their families,” President Roberts said. “We will never forget their sacrifice and rededicate ourselves to continuing our fight for safer mines and workplaces. We want no other lives to be lost and no other families to suffer the unending grief of suddenly losing a parent or sibling simply because they went to work that day.”
A committee of UMWA retirees, active members and staff have worked tirelessly for several years to create a proper memorial for them. Work at the site is ongoing.
