CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Air National Guard still hasn't said when the bodies of four airmen killed while fighting western wildfires will be brought back to Charlotte.
They died one week ago in a crash in South Dakota.
The 145th Airlift Wing Unit will hold a private memorial for them Tuesday, but it will be closed to the public.
The unit will allow news cameras inside, so Channel 9 will be able to cover the story.
Two people who were aboard the C-130 survived last Sunday's crash.
One of those men is Josh Marlowe of Shelby.
Marlow's father-in-law told Channel 9 the family is still waiting to find out when he can come home.
Marlowe is at a Chapel Hill hospital going through testing.
Those airmen were flying a C-130 plane with special fire-fighting equipment aboard. The plane sprays a special fire retardant, but the only company that makes the equipment went out of business a year ago.
The U.S. Forest Service said it has enough major parts in warehouses and technicians who know how to fix the machines to keep the firefighting systems operational.
WSOC
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