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Medals awarded to pilot, survivors of plane crash

Jodee Hogg, left, of Billings, looks on as Montana Gov. Judy Martz, center, reads from the Medal of Valor award for Hogg, who survived a plane crash near Glacier National Park earlier this year and helped fellow Forest Service employee Matthew Ramige to safety. Valor medals were also given to Ramige and posthumously to Jim Long, pilot of the plane, during a ceremony on Wednesday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Sarah Cooke Associated Press
Jodee Hogg, left, of Billings, looks on as Montana Gov. Judy Martz, center, reads from the Medal of Valor award for Hogg, who survived a plane crash near Glacier National Park earlier this year and helped fellow Forest Service employee Matthew Ramige to safety. Valor medals were also given to Ramige and posthumously to Jim Long, pilot of the plane, during a ceremony on Wednesday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

HELENA – Medals were awarded in an emotional ceremony Wednesday to the two survivors of a plane crash near Glacier National Park and the pilot, who authorities say helped free another passenger before he died.

Gov. Judy Martz and Lt. Gov. Karl Ohs presented Montana Medals of Valor to survivor Jodee Hogg, 23, of Billings, and the widow of pilot Jim Long, 60, of Kalispell.

The other survivor, Matthew Ramige, 30, of Jackson, Wyo., is still recovering from burns at his family’s home in Albany, N.Y., and was not able to attend. His medal will be presented at a later date.

“We are honoring three individuals for their bravery and also remembering three who lost their lives,” Martz told the several dozen friends, family and Forest Service employees crowded into the Capitol rotunda.

Hogg, dressed in a dark suit and hiking shoes, sat with her head bowed for most of the ceremony but cracked a small smile when presented with her medal and gave a thumbs up sign afterward.

“I’m not really a spotlight kind of person but I’m glad I got (the medal),” she said after the ceremony, surrounded by her family.

Hogg suffered burns and a sprained back and foot in the crash but walked without a cane Wednesday and said she’s recovering well. She now lives in Missoula and divides her time between physical therapy and playing with her dog. She hasn’t ruled out a return to the Forest Service.

Laura Long, the widow of pilot Jim Long, declined to comment after the ceremony.

Brian Bryant, whose 32-year-old wife, Davita, was among those killed, blames Long for the crash, and earlier this week criticized Martz’s decision to award Long a medal. Bryant did not attend the ceremony.

Martz did not mention Bryant’s comments Wednesday, but said she and others across the country sympathized with the families who lost loved ones.

“We all share your grief in some way,” Martz said.

The plane, with five aboard, was ferrying Forest Service workers into a wilderness area south of Glacier National Park on Sept. 20 when it crashed on a mountain and burst into flames.

Authorities determined Long, Bryant and Ken Good, a 58-year-old Forest Service worker from Whitefish, survived the impact, but Good died of injuries from the resulting fire. Hogg and Ramige spent two days hiking out of the woods. The two credited Long with helping free Good before the plane was engulfed in flames.

The state’s Medal of Valor is awarded annually to those who display “extraordinary courage in a situation threatening the lives of one or more people.” Long, Hogg and Ramige were the only nominees this year.