I would like to listen to your audio recording, but havent been able to make it work. However, it appears you overcame your fear of flying IN A BIG WAY. My Great Uncle Mike aka Mike Galasso was in this. This is a bone chilling audio of a memory deep in my mind. When I was writing and researching this story, I thought about how tough that day must have been for mom. I was five so I doubt I even knew what tin foil was. Because of the oxide stripping and other deterioration factors, I transferred the recording to 1/4-inch reel-to-reel, casette and, ultimately, digital. When we were finally allowed to leave the P.E. Jets were taking off and landing, rattling my nerves. Ive often wondered if the offspring of those killed on that awful day would one day visit this site. I was in the third grade. Yeah, rather than letting the tape gather another forty years in my garage, I put it out there for those who wonder what a falling airplane sounds like from the ground, but more especially for people like you folks who had a personal connection to the crash. We lived on Varna Ave., 1.25 miles from Pacoima Junior High. Everyone ran to the window to see and the teacher was trying to keep us in our seats. It seems just about everybody who witnessed the crash, including you and my sister, developed a lifelong discomfort with flying. I told you we should have had chutes. A brief silence, then: Say goodbye to everybody.. And then one of the guys pointed to the northeast and we caught sight of the F89 going down at probably a 45 degree angle and appeared to crash into the foothills(I think I heard later that it ended up in the La Tuna Canyon area). Cmdes thanks for commenting. Sometimes people there go from one video to another suggestion, and that will help reach out to many people who were not even searching it up in the first place. Needless to say, I always ask GOD to please be with me and my family whenever we fly. Marilyn Richards. Im glad to hear the recording is working out for you, and for such a worthwhile cause. Yeah, a few other commenters wrote about either being sprayed with hot oil or seeing other kids covered with the stuff I wonder if they were remembering seeing your uncle. I had been on my brand new Schwinn bicycle, riding on the sidewalk on Stanford Avenue across the street from my house on Sunburst Avenue. It was my understanding that they were holding a graduation rehearsal in front of B-9 students. Look in your email I wrote you.RB | |. In this age of snark and quick (but rarely quick-witted) online posts, your blog is a gem. Seconds later, part of the hurtling wreckage slammed onto the grounds of the Pacoima Congregational Church, killing all four Douglas crew members aboard while the major portions fell onto the adjacent playground of Pacoima Junior High School. Another living witness. and Beachy. Joseph, I knew your great uncle, Vito Galasso. I was in the class with Mr. Snyder are you on facebook contact me. Susy M Kay says: Wouldnt happen in this day and age. For those of you that read these comments and were at Pacoima Jr when the tragedy occurred maybe you can help me find this person. My only memory of this event was my parents speaking in hushed tones after reading/hearing a news report. My father was the pilot of the DC-7 and my parents had moved to the Pacific Palisades from La Canada two years prior to the crash. So he decided to record the speeches during this pre-graduation ceremony in front of the student body. I recall that some kids were having some twisted fun at Craig Bentleys expense, spreading rumors that he had been intimate with a tree. Very powerful stories have been written here, and I hope that you may all find peace of mind and heart one day with regard to this tragic event. I can remember it like yesterday. I wish that there was more footage, pictures, audio, and varies stories recalling the events that took place that day available on the internet. I remember Evan Elsner, but I did not know him. I think there was a lot of heroism on that day, but few names have been mentioned. Sincerely, Susan Masters Kowalewski, Batavia, Illinois. I heard the planes crash, I watched the smoke rise, I ran inside our classroom with all the other kids wondering what we had just seen. As a five-year-old, I was home with my mom. So, it is not hard to understand why you cling to each other even though it was many years ago. Coming from a member of Ronnies family, your comment is especially welcome. In a Jan. 28, 2007, story staff writer Cecilia Rasmussen reported: On Jan. 31, 1957, a clear, crisp Thursday morning, twin Scorpion fighter jets from Northrops Palmdale facility engaged in routine scissors interceptions -- first one plane, then the other, served as a target to test radar equipment. Love, [1][2][3], The DC-7B, which was earmarked for delivery to Continental Airlines, took off from the Santa Monica Airport at 10:15a.m. on its first functional test flight, with a crew of four Douglas personnel aboard. Windows and room walls were rattling and shaking. He seemed to like the attention and didnt appear bothered by it. We heard the noise going over us, in the direction of the Junior High. The explosion knocked my Dad off the chair he was sitting on. Im not sure if any of the commentors here are depicted in the clippings, but it should prove an interesting read. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. . I can only imagine moms reaction to Pams account of the crash. Jan. 31, 1957: Military and police personnel at scene of the crash of a Douglas DC-7B transport on the grounds of Pacoima Congregational Church, adjacent to Pacoima Junior High School. On that day, two planes collided in mid-air, crashing to the ground in the school yard of Pacoima Junior High. A third gravely injured student died two days later in a local hospital. I believe it was an engine that crashed through the roof of our church. As I looked out the window, almost instantly people came from nowhere. I plan to visit the site, hopefully in the afternoon of June 4. I can picture Raymond Eaker, as well. I offer my best wishes to all who shared this experience. I hope you will consider my idea. From one Poly high alum to another, I really appreciate the thanks at your sign-off; I am now more convinced that posting this story/recording was a good thing to do. We couldnt get any further than the chain link fence surrounding the school. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.Find The History Guy at: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryGuyYT/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheHistoryGuyThe History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered is the place to find short snippets of forgotten history from five to fifteen minutes long. It was a long time ago. Thank you so much for your comment. Someone from school had called my mom to see if I had run home. Copilot Archie R. Twitchell, 50, of Northridge transmitted the last radio message from the crippled plane: Uncontrollable, uncontrollable midair collision. We are going in. Weve had it, boys. We have been married 35 years. What I remember next was the sound. Thanks for your contribution to the conversation. After reading the information I guess I was amazed at the life experiences especially involving the military that he had already accumulated when I knew him. The journey back to the morning of Jan. 31, 1957, began with a phone call from retired nurse Mary Lewandowski, who wondered how to find out what had happened to the two boys she'd spent four. INCLUDING MY BROTHER AND I, WE WERE IN THE AUDITORIUM, HE WAS GRADUATING AND I WAS IN B-9. I had no idea Phyllis had gone out on the field to retrieve her jacket. Youd think I would have remembered that little detail but no, the slate is clean. My sister, who had left the athletic field moments before impact, is definitely a white-knuckler. Look in your email I wrote you. (LogOut/ Thank you very much for getting in touch. Also, why did your mom rush the two of you toward the disaster? (But that may be memory modification over the years). You reminded me that my sister, who happened to be at the P.E. Hey Bill If you mean Beachy, I dont know. I was in grammar school and heard the plane as it was going down. She and one of the girls in our classroom were clutched together. Have you considered posting somewhere permanent or giving the recording to the Smithsonian? Some buried stuff, as Ive just learned, but getting that up and out is, I think, a good thing. We were both very lucky that day. When I started in the fire service everyone was expected to just suck it up, and as many of you know, its not easy!. I Dont know how to send it to you. For weeks after the crash there were people on the field, on hands and knees, picking up pieces of the wreckage. Youre welcome. We heard a loud roaring sound and all of us turned toward the windows facing the courtyard. just let me know. Blessings to those who were hurt and my thoughts are with the families of those who passed away. Our big issues revolved around determine which patients should be transported first and how much treatment should be done at the scene prior to transport. A few years ago Id posted on Russ Buchanans website trying to find someone else who was on the field that day who could tell me what happened, I couldnt remember. It was so cold here recently, it made me think of the real, world-class cold I felt when we did your ballet in, what was it, 2008? As I wrote above, he almost never spoke of the disaster. In 1987 the crash was spotlighted again in the movie La Bamba as the reason Richie Valens, the 50s rock icon and Pacoima favorite son, was afraid to fly. Even people who lived a considerable distance away some who only read about it in the paper were profoundly affected. She scooped me up and put me in the backseat of the car. I was telling my son and his girlfriend just the other night about the crash. He said something about getting back to the Base because he hadnt checked out. One day we had a drop drill. Mrs. Snipper then told us about that day. What was very strange, is that the tragedy connected us all to each other. I ran across another site that mentioned that there was an American Legion awards ceremony going on a the time of the crash. If there is no giant logistical or technical hurdle, would you send me an mp3 of the souped-up version of the audio you used in the drill? We crossed the Pacific Ocean four times in DC-7s. I was in the 4th grade at Montague that day. Pacoima Jr High School Airplane Crash of 1957 - YouTube 0:00 / 2:15 Pacoima Jr High School Airplane Crash of 1957 Psycho Circus 325 subscribers Subscribe 92 Share 6.1K views 2 years. I forgot to mention in the story that the adjacent church was my familys church. Im curious, did the sound on the recording sound like what you remember hearing? He must have lived near me on Beachy Ave. My mother was 36 yrs old and she promised my brother and I that she would try to keep the house so we could finish school with our friends. I will look into the Smithsonian, as you suggested, and other non-profit outfits. So after that i googled plane crash school and this tragic airplane crash was the first that came up. Please contact me here if you have any information on Cindy. However, it was my older sister who was at Pacoima Jr on the day of the crash. And this was 2 years before the Buddy Holly crash. I just listened again and he could very well be saying jet blast. At any rate, it sounds a lot closer to jet blast than it was just loud and I thank you for the correction. Thanks again . I still have all of my Beachy class photos. Eight people were killed, including three students at Pacoima Junior High School. On January 31, 1957, a Douglas DC-7B transport plane crashed into the school yard of Pacoima Junior High School, 9919 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, after colliding with a Northrop F-89J Scorpion jet trainer plane. Two years after the Pacoima disaster, Valens was killed along with his fellow performers and tour mates, J.P. Big Bopper Richardson and Buddy Holly when their light plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa. We would inevitably degenerate into everythings wild, which signaled the end was near. I agree that the audio recording of the Pacoima Airplane Crash is an important bit of history, and that it should remain in the public domain easy to hear and free for long into the future. Come to find out, with the exception of me, all were native Southern Californians. I came to this site preparing for my 50 year Polytechnic High School class reunion September 14 & 15 in Ventura, CA. Russ, We used to stay with them when we would come down to visit Disneyland. I was at my friend Pattis house, playing with her Moms box of buttons on the living room floor. My sister saw the plane coming and hollered to her class Drop! as we had been taught to do for impending disasters. I was at school in La Crescenta doing sit ups out in our school field when we all saw smoke and the planes falling right after impact. Thanks for commenting. God bless you all and thank you for sharing your stories. We lived near by on Gain Street and I went to Kindergarten at Beachy Avenue School. But, there was also a lot of humanity and caring for others on that day, as well. Stephanie Hoenig Reifsnyder. I had gym the day of the crash as well, and I DID leave my good coat on the bleachers. I am surprised at myself. Except I went to Pacas (Pacoima for those Sherman Oaks folks) in the mid-60s. I only had time to check out the Pacoima section of your site just now, but I find the premise of CemeteryGuide.com Stories Behind the Stones fascinating. My classroom rocked violently back and forth from the impact. I was born in 52 and started at Beachy when I was six. It was loud enough (even though we were a few miles away) that we at first felt we were vulnerable. And about those exams: STOP WORRYING. Those sights would have been tough enough for any adult to handle, let alone elementary-aged kids. I think the rest of the classroom was reading. I was only five when the plane came down and remember very little of that day, despite the fact that my big sister and my dad were on campus when it happened. My parents rented a house on Morehart Avenue, less than a mile from Terra Bella Elementary. I remember her telling me that her mom was hanging clothes on the line to dry when all happened and part if one of the planes landed at her feet and didnt hurt anything. \f0\fs22 \cf2 \cb3 \expnd0\expndtw0\kerning0 In 1957, a plane collision crash killed seven people two pilots and two crew members, . That my blog performed such a solid, useful service in de-troubling him will definitely put a little more strut in my step. Cant wait to visit from Michigan in a few weeks and I cant wait to show my kids my real home. Russ Ive read this from your website and only now listened to the recording My God.. Wow, I remember almost all the students names you mentioned Gates, Liff, Roberts and Maltz and all the teachers you named. Ill check some of the comments and my correspondence for some other likely candidates. Im going through new comments now and I should have his up in a few minutes. I remember you; you were Steves little, very cute sister who would careen around the house while your brother, me and the rest of the gang did what ever the hell we used to do back then. Wow. He and this whole tragedy made a huge impact on me, too. In fact, Paul and my father were colleagues during the 50s when dad taught at Pacoima. He thought he found it on fake Rent-A-Hitman site, feds say, Search continues after 3 sailors on Mexico-to-San Diego trip go missing amid rough seas. I have never been there, this will be a first for me. Hi Mike thank you for your detailed recollection. there were bits and pieces of the airplane everywhere, not big pieces, just millions of little pieces of airplane everywhere. Definitely left a mark on my young memory. One of the engines slide into the next set of bleached, where I would have been If I had not stopped. May they Rest In Peace. The tragedy gained national notoriety when angry Pacoima parents successfully petitioned officials to prohibit future test flights over populated areas. I graduated 1969. Trans-Iranian oil pipe line finished; . Craig Bentley lived around the corner from us on Canterbury street, a couple doors down from Raymond Eaker. P.S. Thanks for this historic artifact. I heard a high pitched beeping sound behind me and turned around to see my dad, in a military jeep, making his way through the crowd. My cousin, Ronnie, died on the playground that day. Her name was Joyce. appeared first on The Nation. I will let you know how it turns out and thank you again for permitting us to use it. ball of fire.and what appeared to look like Sadly, while researching the crash I found that Coach Vardanian died in June 1964 (Heroes and Teachers Possemato, et al., Google Books) a mere seven years after his heroism at age 34. I was 6 years old at that time and I still have my class photos of May 1956 and 1957 if anyone is interested. We watched while it flew out of sight and finally the plume of smoke. Ill go check out Mayday. Sounds like a good idea. Very good question. First, when I was in the room with Lloyd Hopkins he told me we were running to get behind the handball wall. Thank you for your recollection. It was an emotional event for me. 1957 Pacoima California Mid-Air Collision The History Guy remembers a mid-air collision between two planes flying test flights over a California city and its connection to Ritchie Valens. I can only imagine the terror and bewilderment you and your classmates must have experienced in those moments. The one thing I recall of that day (I was five) was the thousand pieces of metal, as you put it, falling out of the sky. The plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean about thirty minutes after taking off from Tokyo. I was at Montegue Elementary School right across from our house. In fact, during my young adult years I flew a great deal and almost always enjoyed the experience. The grad speaker on the tape, Linda Latrelle is a good friend of my sisterinlalw. I havent yet been able to find out the cause of Coach Vardanians untimely death. Elementary School. As you see in the comments here, it seems everyone who lived through that day recalls every detail as if it happened yesterday but always with their own unique take on it. Embarrassingly enough, Ive never really thought about its continuation as a free, public-accessible document after Ive shuffled into the Great Beyond, or at least failed to maintain my account here for some other, less dramatic reason. Women and men wept openly and copiously. She checks the comments here from time to time and I know shell be glad to see these boys are still remembered. Yes, it is haunting. Well, this plane crash was horrendous, I will never forget it, I remember parts of the plane landing in our backyard, I think I was walking home from Beachy Avenue Elementary School when it happened, about 2 blocks away at around 11 a.m. or so. still later my father showed up to take me home from school in the middle of the afternoon and told me what had happened. Later I remember waiting with my mom to find out if my brother, a student at Pacoima Jr. Hi, was OK. What an interesting turn of events. I was trying to imagine seeing what you saw at the tender age of a fourth grader. Its crazy how she just said we have one life to live right before it happened. I was playing outside. Sister Pam here. I went on to read many of your wonderfully insightful articles. At least, I hope so. He probably took the reel of tape directly from Pacoima to his gig at the station that day for broadcast. Jeet Heer The Establishment focus on personal scandals helps cover up the former presidents reckless belligerence. I was doing some research on this so thanks for posting the information. My sister and I would love to find Evans sister Cindy, but were not sure what happened to her after they moved to Oxnard. I am 70 years old now and just listened to the recording again for the first time since the crash. He developed an intense fear of flying and died in a plane crash 2 years later She mentioned a couple of children by name (sadly I made no note of them). I was young and that is all I know. Because what you heard is the entire recording (digitally dubbed to CD from the original),he must have started recording after the student began to speak. Thanks for commenting.RB | |. Then, when I got to Pacoima Jr. High the drills just stopped. Several times she came back to a pair of shoes. It was designed for folks that were interested in Vocational Instruction and Vocational Course Development. I just wanted to bring you up to date on this very historic and important audio you are allowing us to use for the disaster drill this summer. Kris. Yours is the first to tell about those scars from a mental health professionals point of view. Thanks for sharing, Russ. My job was to help families deal with severe emotional and behavioral issues that were keeping them in the cycle of poverty, substance abuse, crime, etc. I remember the engine that landed on the schoolyard fence, the airplane door on the roof of a car across the street and the airplane seats everywhere. Thank you for adding your vivid account to the discussion. To be honest i know it might be a burden for you but at the same time it will spread the knowledge about this plane crash even more. I miss my father and wonder what life would be like had he not perished; I was only 9 years old at the time. By the time they let us out of school, the bodies and the injured were taken away, we saw them fly over our heads in the helicopters, but the wreckage was still there, everywhere. Hell, I was only in the 4th grade, I had watched the movies, but this was nothing like the movies, this was real. Everyone dove under their desks and covered their heads.I did not. A school official tries to calm the students by announcing, It was a jet blast. Russ, And then someone pointed high in the sky and we saw a parachute (which turned out to be the surviving crewman of the F89) and watched it descend and it appeared to land not too far from our school. Is there an type of memorial to those who perished?y Bill Ritchie, From: Russ Buchanan To: billscessn99@yahoo.com Sent: Monday, March 9, 2015 3:23 AM Subject: [New comment] Pacoima Jr. High School Airplane Crash of 1957 (audio recording as it happened) #yiv7212670403 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv7212670403 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv7212670403 a.yiv7212670403primaryactionlink:link, #yiv7212670403 a.yiv7212670403primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv7212670403 a.yiv7212670403primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv7212670403 a.yiv7212670403primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv7212670403 WordPress.com |, Russ Buchanan commented: Hi Jill Pam often checks in to read the latest comments here. I really even though im born 1993 and that is like many decades after the crash, i really feel horrible after searching about it and especially after seeing the photos of the 3 victims. We often walked home together from Pacoima Junior High. I was in the 8th grade at Sun Valley Junior High and I was having lunch with 3 of my buddies. I dont know if the kids there ever heal completely. We were both waiting for our Dads to have cataract surgery. I will never know if that was the reason. Hi, Nicholas Russell- I developed the Orange County Mass Casualty Plan as my class project. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Rebecca Grant Polish activist Justyna Wydrzyska is the first woman in Europe to be convicted of intent to aid an abortion. I was a 6th-grader at Haddon Avenue School that day. I heard the planes roar as it went directly over my head, just above the trees. Then again, I was only five so everything probably sounded unusual. I was told to leave and I started to run home. If any reader happens to know what exactly was going on in the auditorium at the time of the crash, please write. It seems like the majority of people who witnessed the crash and/or its aftermath developed the same fear. Just one more comment, January 31, 1957 was my thirteen birthday; one I will never forget. We watched the helicopters for the rest of the afternoon, flying back and fourth with stretchers on each side carrying the dead and injured (they looked like the helicopters from M.A.S.H.). I was in the 6th grade at Beachy Ave. Coincidentally enough, my sister told me on the phone yesterday that she attended the San Fer reunion with her chum, Carol Crockett (maiden name). I felt connected to the terrible history. Yes, its sobering to think of what might have happened if the DC-7 had veered one way or the other into the auditorium, classrooms or the many nearby residences. Eight months after this crash, our family of four boarded a Northwest Orient Airlines DC-7 to fly to Japan where we moved to live for four years. the sky. (LogOut/ I remember hearing a tape of the crash that the music teacher, Mr Morse, had. Hope this clears up a question of rotary ect. I remember that I left my classroom and ran around the building and into the field. Craigs nickname was Beetle Bentley. In January 1957, a Douglas DC-7B collided with a U.S. Air Force F-89 jet over the San Fernando Valley. Then, the thought came to me that these guys had something to do with the crash. The post Dont Count Barbara Lee Out of the California Senate Race appeared first on The Nation. I had no idea where he was and if he was ok. After what seemed like hours, we found each other. The organizers believe the sound of an actual disaster will lend gravitas and realism to the drill. Even though it was many years ago and I was very young, my memory is so vivid it takes people by surprise. Only five so everything probably sounded unusual Beachy, i was born 52! Im not sure if any reader happens to know what exactly was going on in class... 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