ARLINGTON – Just after 2:30 p.m. on July 21, two Marine F/A-18 fighter jets collided over the Columbia River at Arlington, killing two crew members and injuring another.

“It was just one big fireball,” said Richard Treece, who saw the two planes crash into each other while on a training exercise from Portland to the Boardman Bombing Range.

Witnesses described debris as big as cars falling from the sky. Within hours Marine units were combing the Arlington country side for debris from the crash.

In the space of a few hours Arlington’s population skyrocketed as media and military officials swarmed to the crash site.

The crash is still under investigation by the Navy, which has declined to release any information regarding the cause of the collision.

Arlington, however, is doing something to preserve the memory of the two service members who died.

A memorial is being created, said Mary Harp, one of the organizers. A dedication will be held no later than July 31, 2005.

“It was a tragedy, it was horrific,” she said. “This is the town’s way of healing.”

Harp said the families of the pilots who died will be in attendance, as well as more than 20 Marines in dress uniforms. She also said there will be a jet fly-over.

The memorial will be at the park near where the jets went down. A donation box at the site has provided more than a $1,000 just from donations made by people passing through. So far, Harp said about $10,000 has been raised, and about $3,000 more is needed.

The memorial will have stones with plaques giving information about the two pilots who were killed. Harp said even though the men were not from Arlington, they will always be thought of as neighbors.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re not from Arlington,” she said. “They died over Arlington.”