Otopeni Airport Massacre - Otopeni, RO
Posted by: 
haggaeus
N 44° 34.126 E 026° 04.454
35T E 426489 N 4935464
Memorial to soldiers killed by friendly fire on December 23th, 1989.
Waymark Code: WMEPC5
Location: Romania
Date Posted: 06/22/2012
Views: 10
The memorial reminds of one tragic episode in December 1989 revolution:
On December 22nd, the protests against the communist regime spread across the country and the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu escaped by the helicopter from his palace. The army joined the protesters and the soldiers were guarding strategic posts to prevent the overthrown dictator to leave the country.
When three trucks with reinforcements arrived to the Otopeni International Airport, they were mistaken for the units which remained loyal to Ceausescu and the airport guard started a fire on them. 40 soldiers and 8 civilians were killed in the incident.
The memorial is made from white marble: there is a pillar with Romanian crest and text "Patria noastre spuneti-i adevarul: am fost acolo unde trebuia sa fim!" (roughly translated: tell the truth to our motherland - we have been here where we had to be"). There are also marble headstones of the victims. The soldiers have been posthumously promoted to higher ranks.
Source:
Article at adevarul.ro (in Romanian)