West Virginia

Capital: Charleston

Largest City: Charleston

Size Rank: 41st

Population Rank: 37th

Admission to Union: 35th

Find the other caches in the series HERE.

The Cache Across America Series: This is a series of caches that will take you on a caching tour of the entire United States. One cache is hidden in each of the 50 states. These caches each contain a numeric clue that will lead you to one final cache located in our nation's capitol upon completion of the series.

About this cache:This cache is located not far from the Memorial Honoring those who died in the Marshall Plane crash. The Marshall Memorial honors the University football team, coaches, staff and supporters who died in the November, 1970 plane crash. In front of the obelisk are six unmarked graves, in memory of the victims that could not be identified. The names of these six are engraved in the front face of the memorial. Bobby Pruett called Marshall's rise from the ashes of the crash to national prominence "truly God's miracle."It's still considered a very special time in the history of Thundering Herd football. Following the plane crash in November 1970, Marshall had pieced together a football team for the following season and the media called it the "Young Thundering Herd." It was the first home game after the crash. With no time left on the clock in the September 25, 1971 game, Terry Gardner, No. 26, a freshman pulled in a pass from quarterback Reggie Oliver for a 15-13 win over Xavier. The score came on a play never used by the Herd. On a bootleg screen pass off the left side, Oliver threw to Gardner instead of to the expected receiver who was well covered. "It was a storybook finish," proclaimed new coach Jack Lengyel in the locker room after the victory. "No one thought we had a chance to win except the team." The Herd finished the year 2-8, also beating Bowling Green.

The Spirit of your typical West Virginian was demonstrated many times following the tragic event. Which is why I chose this place. Please be respectful as visit this Monument. Gates are closed to vehicular traffic at sundown however foot traffic is still allowed.

Logging Requirements: Enjoy this cache as you would any other. If you are searching this cache as a participant in the Cache Across America series, please post a photo of yourself or a member of your group with the cache in your online log. If you for some reason are unable to meet the photo requirement, please make alternate arrangements to verify your find with the individual cache owner. There is no photo requirement for non-challenge participants.

Individual verification of all 50 state finds will be required before logging the series final.

If participating in the series, please take note of the three digit code located inside this cache. Save this code in a secure place. When you have visited all 50 caches, and have collected all 50 codes, you are welcome to seek and find the final cache! Good luck!