updated 1:25 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2008

MANCHESTER, England - With Manchester United’s plane in flames and his teammates dying in the snow, Bobby Charlton immediately recognized his duty.

The 20-year-old Charlton frantically went to work to assist in the rescue effort on the smoke-shrouded airport runway in Munich, Germany.

Spotting manager Matt Busby groaning in agony, Charlton scrambled to help the father figure who had promoted him to the first team the previous season.

And so began a lifelong effort to ensure that United’s spirit wasn’t destroyed by the Feb. 6, 1958, tragedy that claimed eight members of the “Busby Babes” team among the 23 dead.

“I was young and concussed and I didn’t find out until the following morning who had actually been killed,” Charlton recalled ahead of next week’s 50th anniversary commemorations. “It was like someone reading out the names of pals you go to the dance with at the weekend.”

Charlton miraculously emerged from the smoldering wreckage with only light head injuries, and was the first to be released from the hospital.

Despite obvious pain recalling the crash, Charlton is driven by a lingering obligation to preserve the memories of the Munich dead while constantly serving as the club’s roving ambassador, crisscrossing continents.

“It was a tragedy. Really, really upsetting, even today,” he said. “But it’s better for me to tell people how good they were. That’s the most important thing.”

Today, as a club director, Charlton remains United’s most recognizable figure and a constant link with the past. He has helped drive changes — from spearheading Alex Ferguson’s managerial appointment in 1986 to soothing fans’ concerns over the team’s takeover by Malcolm Glazer, the American who owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“United is in a dimension which no one could have dreamed of when we shuddered, shook our heads and contemplated ... the ashes of Munich,” Charlton wrote in his 2007 autobiography, “My Manchester United Years.”

“For so many years I was at the heart of Manchester United’s effort to maintain its place in football — and in all the triumphs and the disappointments, and the tragedy, there was always one great hope: the return to greatness of my beloved club.”

That came 10 years later when Charlton became the first Englishman to raise the European Cup at Wembley. The team captain, he scored twice in the 4-1 humbling of Benfica in the May 1968 final.

It was a fitting tribute to the teammates who had died on the flight back from a match at Red Star Belgrade, chasing the same European trophy.

“It was marvelous because it was something you could aim at to put things right in a way,” Charlton said. “The accident had happened, this great tragedy and loss, you try to put everything into perspective.”

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The duty was also to Busby, who was ravaged with guilt after emerging from a hospital despite being twice read his last rites.

“Because it was his team, his lads (who died), we felt it would be fantastic if we could win it sometime,” Charlton said. “I think Matt Busby could feel a lot happier. He probably missed the players more than anyone else really because he felt responsible.”

Apart from brief spells at Preston, Wigan and Irish side Waterford, Charlton has been a mainstay at Old Trafford. During more than 21 years at the club, Ferguson has turned to Charlton to fully comprehend United’s stature.

Charlton overcame any lingering fears about flying to develop United’s heritage into a worldwide fan base. He also spearheaded unsuccessful bids to bring the World Cup back to England and was knighted in 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the game.

But every time he takes to the skies, he is still left with unanswered questions about the crash, which followed a refueling stop in a blizzard.

“Flying now, you have to remember, is a lot less dangerous than it used to be,” he said. “The accident happened simply because they didn’t realize the (limited) speed of the aircraft, how much slush was on the runway, how much snow was coming down. These days, they wouldn’t have taken off.

“I think about it quite often, Captain James Phain, and what his thoughts were, and why we took off. But I suppose it will never be proved.”

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