1980 murders of U.S. missionaries in El Salvador

{{short description|Murders}}

{{short description|Murders}}{{Infobox civilian attack

{{Modern persecutions of the Catholic Church}}{{Infobox civilian attack

| location = Near [[El Salvador International Airport]], El Salvador

| location = Near [[El Salvador International Airport]], El Salvador

| date = {{start date and age|1980|12|2|}}

| date = {{start date and age|1980|12|2|}}

Peasants living nearby had seen the women's white van drive to an isolated spot at about 10 p.m. on December 2 and then heard [[machine gun]] fire followed by single shots, three hours after the flight was due. They saw five men flee the scene in the white van, with the lights on and the radio blaring. The van would be found later that night on fire at the side of the airport road. Later, the women's bodies with knife wounds were found in a ditch.<ref name="Noone"/>

Peasants living nearby had seen the women's white van drive to an isolated spot at about 10 p.m. on December 2 and then heard [[machine gun]] fire followed by single shots, three hours after the flight was due. They saw five men flee the scene in the white van, with the lights on and the radio blaring. The van would be found later that night on fire at the side of the airport road. Later, the women's bodies with knife wounds were found in a ditch.<ref name="Noone"/>

Early the next morning, December 3, they found the bodies of the four women and were told by local authorities&nbsp;— a judge, three members of the National Guard, and two commanders&nbsp;— to bury them in a common grave in a nearby field. The peasants did so, but informed their [[parish priest]], Father Paul Schindler, and the news reached Óscar Romero's successor [[Arturo Rivera y Damas]] and the [[United States Ambassador to El Salvador]], [[Robert White (ambassador)|Robert White]].<ref name="Noone"/>

Early the next morning, December 3, they found the bodies of the four women and were told by local authorities&nbsp;— a judge, three members of the National Guard, and two commanders&nbsp;— to bury them in a common grave in a nearby field. The peasants did so, but informed their [[parish priest]], Father Paul Schindler, and the news reached Óscar Romero's successor [[Arturo Rivera y Damas]] and the [[United States Ambassador to El Salvador]], [[Robert White (ambassador)|Robert White]].<ref name="Noone"/>{{Modern persecutions of the Catholic Church}}Their shallow grave was exhumed the next day, December 4, in front of 15 reporters, Sisters Alexander and Dorsey and several missionaries, and Ambassador White. Donovan's body was the first exhumed; then Kazel's; then Clarke's; and last, that of Ita Ford. On December 5, a [[Mass of the Resurrection]] was said by Bishop [[Arturo Rivera y Damas]]; and on December 6, the bodies of Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel were flown out for burial. Donovan's body was returned to her parents in [[Sarasota, Florida]], while Kazel's was taken back to her hometown of Cleveland, where she was buried in All Souls Cemetery in [[Chardon, Ohio]]. The bodies of the Maryknoll sisters, Clarke and Ford, were buried in [[Chalatenango, Chalatenango|Chalatenango, El Salvador]],<ref name="Noone"/> in keeping with Maryknoll practice.

Their shallow grave was exhumed the next day, December 4, in front of 15 reporters, Sisters Alexander and Dorsey and several missionaries, and Ambassador White. Donovan's body was the first exhumed; then Kazel's; then Clarke's; and last, that of Ita Ford. On December 5, a [[Mass of the Resurrection]] was said by Bishop [[Arturo Rivera y Damas]]; and on December 6, the bodies of Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel were flown out for burial. Donovan's body was returned to her parents in [[Sarasota, Florida]], while Kazel's was taken back to her hometown of Cleveland, where she was buried in All Souls Cemetery in [[Chardon, Ohio]]. The bodies of the Maryknoll sisters, Clarke and Ford, were buried in [[Chalatenango, Chalatenango|Chalatenango, El Salvador]],<ref name="Noone"/> in keeping with Maryknoll practice.

== The Women ==

== The Women ==