“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. — Matthew 7:7
At the time of the Med Flight crash on October 24, 2004, David Krohn was a Border Patrol Supervisor at the Brown Field Station in San Diego, CA. He, along with other agents responded to the tragic event immediately after it was reported. On October 30, six days after the crash, David was at the site keeping people off the mountain and away from the scene while it was still under investigation by the FAA. In his own words, later recorded on the Med Flight Memorial web site, this is what happened that day and the ones that followed:
“I heard a voice calling to me and was at a loss as to what was being said and who was talking to me. I kept asking the other agent who was there, ‘What?’ and he kept telling me that he was not saying anything to me. I then had to return to the crash site on one of my days off as I had lost my cell phone. I returned on Sunday and eventually found the phone and returned home.
However, that evening something kept telling me to return again to the site, that there was something of value to be found there—not something that would enrich me monetarily, but something that was overlooked by the recovery and cleanup crews and had to be found. I then returned to the scene on November 6 and was subsequently told that the cleanup was complete. I felt I was to look again—but I found nothing.
As I was leaving I was compelled to take a short cut away from the scene, that climbed up on a rocky road. As I did, I immediately spotted a silver colored object on top of some rocks. I was not sure if it was a ring or a piece of the jet. When I got out and picked it up, I immediately realized that it was a wedding band. I carried it to my vehicle and drove off.
At one point on a steep climb the road had been washed away with exposed boulders. My vehicle became high-centered on one of the boulders and I lost all traction. The truck started to slide off the mountain and I was sure I was about to die. As I was cussing my misfortune, a voice came to me saying, ‘It’s O.K., I’m here with you, go ahead, you’ll be all right.’ Almost immediately my vehicle seemed to lift off the rock, and moved forward to a point where the tires grabbed hold of the road and I was able to drive away safely.
When I returned to the station, I looked up the victims’ names on the computer. I initially thought that this ring might possibly belong to one of the crew members named Marco (Villalobos), because of the inscription in Spanish, ‘Te Amaré Siempre’. I emailed the El Paso Fire Station for assistance in locating the owner. After three days when I didn’t hear from them, I contacted the Med Flight office in Albuquerque and was told that the ring belonged to John Lamphere and that his bride Tammie was most interested in its return. I will meet with her this weekend and return the ring to her. I truly believe I was sent back to the site to find that ring.”
Upon hearing the amazing news, Tammie flew out to San Diego to meet David the next weekend and he proudly and tenderly presented her with John’s ring. Immediately upon her return she came by our church to share her excitement. Around her neck was the silver wedding ring with the inscription, “Te Amaré Siempre” (I will love you forever).
“Those were my words to my beloved husband,” Tammie exclaimed, “and they’re really God’s words to all of us aren’t they?”
Yes, Tammie. No matter what happens in our lives, even things we don’t understand, God wants us all to know that He loves us—and He will forever. Maranatha!
To help us walk closer with God and to know Him better
