A minibus approached - on board innocent men who had been working hard all day and were looking forward to their dinner.
But others had murder on their mind... Up to a dozen gunmen surrounded the van, ordered the men out, forcing them at gunpoint to reveal their religion.
A Catholic man was allowed to run for it. The rest were lined up and shot.
Then, the last command was shouted: "Finish them off"...
Ten men lay dead on this quiet country road. Remarkably, one man who was hit 18 times survived.
Earlier this week, we revealed details of a leaked report, investigating exactly what happened that day.
Some of it confirmed what we already knew - the IRA did it and the weapons which killed had been used before...
But exactly how many has just been revealed: 37 murders, 22 attempted murders and 19 non-fatal shootings.
One of the weapons was used to murder RUC Constable David McNeice and Rifleman Michael Gibson in Meigh, Co Armagh in 1974 and the attempted murder of a farmer in Armagh.
After Kingsmills it was used in the attempted murder of security force personnel and an attack on a military helicopter.
Another gun was used in the double murder of Lance Corporal Philip James and Private Roy Bedford in 1974 and those of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Raymond Buchanan.
Even one of the weapons used to kill was STOLEN from the army and it goes on, as the history of all 11 guns are listed in this report... so much devastation left behind.
Then comes another startling revelation: one of the gunmen is suspected of being involved in the Omagh bombing.
Like many historic cases, there were failures and missed opportunities by the police.
The investigation got off to a bad start. The team had just 12 staff. Nowadays there would be many more.
For example 100 detectives were brought in to investigate the recent murder of Ronan Kerr. Back then it was different.
The HET has described the failures they've uncovered as "disturbing".
"Failure to trace and interview a number of potential witnesses was a very significant missed opportunity at a crucial point in the investigation," the report says.
But it's not just the RUC facing criticism. It seems police in Britain have some serious questions to answer.
Here's why... In 2002 a key suspect was stopped by the authorities at Heathrow.
That man was on a wanted list over the murders of ten innocent men.
Yet, he was allowed to continue on his journey.
How could this be? Was a check not carried out? Were police here informed? Or, was this man travelling on a false passport?
So many questions...
There were arrests over Kingsmills, but no-one was ever convicted of murder. All those involved had fled to the south, so news that one of them was in this jurisdiction, yet no action was taken, has caused deep concern.
On Tuesday the Kingsmills families will gather in Bessbrook to give their reaction to this report.
By then they will have had time to pour over its contents.
A few days ago Alan Black, the man who survived Kingsmills, said : "It is a relief that the HET investigation is now complete."
He added: "There is a memorial to the men in the village of Bessbrook, close to where I live, and I think often of my workmates who lost their lives on that terrible evening. The memory will never leave me.
"I have suffered physical and mental scars but the families of the men who died, have suffered much more. Their grief continues every day and I hope they will find some comfort in the HET report."
Thousands of people here are still seeking comfort from the past. But all attempts to find one way to deal with all the hurt have so far failed.
With Kingsmills now back in the headlines, many believe it's now time this issue is tackled once and for all.