The next thing I remember is the crash. The auditorium doors can be heard slamming open from the concussion of the crash. I lived over on Hadden Ave a little south of PJH. I remember holding on to the chain link fence with both hands, trying make sense of it all. To me, the most nightmarish aspect was the screaming sound the plane made as it fell. Later I remember waiting with my mom to find out if my brother, a student at Pacoima Jr. Hi, was OK. The two schools shared a common chain link fence about 10 feet high. Definitely left a mark on my young memory. I was in the Auditorium as a B 9th grade student. I wish that there was more footage, pictures, audio, and varies stories recalling the events that took place that day available on the internet. Id like to think that in his and the others final moments, a kind of calm acceptance came over them. Moment later a student barged into the room to tell of the crash and the pilot para hooting. The remains of Carr, Twitchell and the other crew members -- radio operator Roy Nakazawa, 28, and flight engineer Waldo B. Adams, 42, both of Los Angeles -- were found in the fuselage, which smacked into the ground at Pacoima Congregational Church, adjacent to the school. I came to this site preparing for my 50 year Polytechnic High School class reunion September 14 & 15 in Ventura, CA. I believe it was an engine that crashed through the roof of our church. Thank you. Say goodbye to everybody were going in. The navigator of the F-89 had parachuted safely to the ground immediately after his jets near head-on collision with the larger aircraft. I remember seeing the tape 1/4-inch on 4-inch reel when I used to rifle through my dads tape collection as a nosy kid. Yes, Russ, Phyllis and I did see each other at the reunion. Cmdes thanks for commenting. Coming from a member of Ronnies family, your comment is especially welcome. I ran across another site that mentioned that there was an American Legion awards ceremony going on a the time of the crash. In fact, during my young adult years I flew a great deal and almost always enjoyed the experience. The horror of what happened that day comes through clearly in this recording. Mark Boone,David Jones and of course Ritchie Vallens (Richard Vallenswella) made our 9th grade year full of music..they would entertain us at lunch time.we were happy young people! He had been working in the motor pool when the Air Base was alerted about the crash. An estimated 75 more students on the school playground suffered critical and minor injuries. 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. I returned to Beachy at the very end of my sixth grade (following a semester at Lowman School for the Handicapped). Thanks for sharing the audio. Some of the people profiled are famous, but most are not. Looking backwards, connecting the dots, a very personal journey began on the morning of January 31st, 1957. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . Thanks. I recall recall seeing a huge It was deafening. Its all over.. She checks the comments here from time to time and I know shell be glad to see these boys are still remembered. The system integrates with Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) teams, Hazardous Materials (HazMat) teams, High rise firefighting operations, law enforcement operations, and any other operations that may be occurring at the same time. locker rooms, I started searching for our dad. I remember how scared my brother and I were, I still can vividly see that that plane crashing. John 3:16 Linda made another speech that day. Pretty amazing, considering that today that same brain cant even remember where it put its keys. At 10:15 a.m., the Douglas Aircraft Co. DC-7B aircraft left Santa Monica Airport on its first test flight. Pam, who had just finished Gym, was in the P.E. Maybe Richard was with us. But he NEVER complains or asks why me?This recording is riveting. Also, you might be interested in the Then and Now site about the crash. I listened to it on the radio after coming home from school that day and it scared the living daylights out of me. I was a seventh grader who had gym that period. I hope you were able to contact each other. Im glad he is still alive to this day. Once I approve a comment, it is there for good unless the commenter requests that I remove it. A year or so later I had Helen Snipper as teacher of a drama class at Pacoima Jr. High. Two Air Force F-89 jet fighters departed Palmdale at 10:50 a.m. to test their radar. Thanks for commenting, Stephanie. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. When I connected Richards name with the picture I remember him. Im not sure why you cant get the audio to play. A fine man whose life seemed way too short. Douglas DC-7B, Continental Airlines. The elementary school was next to Pacoima Junior HIgh. Russ What does the school look like now? 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). My little brain was going a hundred miles an hour. Thank you so much for commenting and for the nice words about the rest of the blog. Thanks for writing and for your nice words about Evan. The pilot died in the crash. John was their bass player. It sounds like he was at the same place on the field as I was. I was doing some research on this so thanks for posting the information. I was at Montegue Elementary School right across from our house. I was 18 years old when this crash took place. I read that the school does not have any kind of monnoument or something about the accident, which i think is a shame, couse even though such memories are hard to remember i think they should be remembered for the safety of children in the future, i think the school should definitely not just try to push the memories away and try to forget, because. They wrote about seeing a classmate bathed in smoking oil with his shredded jacket hanging off him. I was walking out the school gate when I heard and then saw the DC 7 crashing. 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. I was soaked in oil, my heavy coat was ripped up from flying bits of metal but had no real injuries. On that day, two planes collided in mid-air, crashing to the ground in the school yard of Pacoima Junior High. 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. I was playing outside. Many people consider the Pacoima crash to be an important event in their lives. It sounds like you saw what I saw the falling metallic confetti which is just about all I remember from that day (I was the same age as you). Its interesting to read all of the comments. When he would lose control of the class, hed literally blow his top. You can find the story at: http://www.cemeteryguide.com/gotw-pacoima.html. I was dripping, head to toe, from the oil and now walking with a limp rather than running. Jeet Heer The Establishment focus on personal scandals helps cover up the former presidents reckless belligerence. I hoped these Pacoima pages might have cathartic value for some readers, and it seems that they have. I was able to share this information with the other professionals involved in the case and she was able, at least, to unload some of the emotions she had been holding inside. Over by a demolished backstop, a burned and mangled crewmember was still strapped to a chair, his death stare looking out at the carnage that was all around. I have often wondered what my dad did during the initial moments and after. I actually ended up on this page because i had a nightmare about me sitting in a plaine while it crashed in my school, and first when i google it i ended up on this page : http://dreammoods.com/cgibin/dreamdictionarysearch.pl?method=exact&header=dreamsymbol&search=plane about dream symnols interpretation, and actually its no wonder it crashedinto school since i feel so streesed about my exams and getting accepted into a university. Marilyn Richards. I still cry when I try to tell people what happened that day. Will never forget the impact. I am so thankful the plane did not crash into the auditorium as the disaster would have been even more tragic. 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. those hospitalized in the air collision and crash of two airplanes in Pacoima: At San Fernando Hospital: Robert Curry, 12, 13722 Pierce St., Pacoima, broken left ankle and foot. HI Russ There was more jet noise. EveRuth ing was out of control..we ran out of building aND witnessed a devastating scene. The tragic memories will be in my heart forever along with the great friends who suffered with injuries or lost family members. Very good question. Small wonder, it sounds like it was a mini-Armageddon. Your old neighborhood brought up memories for me. I still drive by the old neighborhood on my way to golf at Hansen Dam it still looks nice (the many new wrought iron fences around many front yards notwithstanding). Edition of The Californian Get this The Californian page for free from Friday, February 1, 1957 d Enjoyment For if very Member of THE FAMILY . I was in Mrs. Coughlins class. I remember dad once said (and I mean only once he rarely talked about that day) something about having to either identify or tend to (I cant remember which) a boy who had sustained a horrible head injury. We were able to leave the classroom to go to the bathroom. And about those exams: STOP WORRYING. I attended Beachy Ave. from Sept. 1957 to June 1962 (5th grade). Hey just a BIG hello, I was in your class too, and was in the auditorium with you, I think its interesting you are in Duluth Minn. thats where I was born and lived until we came to Pacoima, Ca. Calvin Trillin The post Democracy in Tennessee appeared first on The Nation. He would pick up those black beetles crawling on the sidewalk on the way to Liggett elementary and torment kids along the way. When played back at normal speed, it will sound Chipmunked. The recording I posted is an exact copy of the original, although I did EQ it to bring out the voice and reduce tape noise. 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. I remember, we used to have drop drills at Beachy Elementary often. By now there seemed to be hundreds of people in the crash area. I was five years Oldfield at a nearby nursery school when this happened. Our teacher pushed us back into the safety of the classroom, where we stood at the windows for hours watching the emergecy crews working. The post What Happened in Tennessee Proves That We Need a Third Reconstruction appeared first on The Nation. I was in the second grade at Strathern Street School in North Hollywood at the time of the crash. I have never been there, this will be a first for me. When the plane hit I was running. I dont know if he did that in order to see better or to be able breathe. So no, I have no lasting fears of flying. At first, I was hesitant to post the recording because of its potential for reawakening the horror in people like your husband. He left the school yard in shock and a neighbor lady found him walking home and picked him up. I cannot tell you how the events of that day and this recording have stayed with me all these days. I do still live in the Valley, but far from good old Beachy. Today, I still have problems with low flying planes, which happens often in Littlerock, CA. God bless you all and thank you for sharing your stories. Ah, the good old days. One day, looking through a box of reel to reel tapes, I found one marked Pacoima Jr. High School airplane crash (1957). Oh my God this is something horrible, and i cannot even imageine the horror people who experienced the plane crash went through. I dont know when he passed on. I always thought it would have been kinda fun to be in his class. http://angiejim.homestead.com/thenandnow.html, I wrote a comment on 9March when my son told me about Russ Buchanans website. That September, the brand new Liggett St. Ill never forget the confusion, fear, and terror I felt. My cousin, Ronnie Brann, died that day. I remember that day too. He probably took the reel of tape directly from Pacoima to his gig at the station that day for broadcast. I was a student in the seventh grade on How horrible was that! [4], The DC-7B, with a portion of its left wing shorn off, remained airborne for a few minutes. Hi, James thanks for commenting. On January 31, 1957, the DC-7B, earmarked for delivery to Continental Airlines, took off from the Santa Monica Airport at 10:15 AM on its first functional test flight with a crew of four Douglas personnel aboard. I looked up toward my right and saw a big airplane (I was in the second grade, about 7 years old) on fire. Our family lived at 13328 Kagel Cyn. July 12, 1963: Curtiss A. Adams, the only man to survive the Jan. 31, 1957, crash of an F-89J and a DC-7B over Pacoima, testifies in a lawsuit between Douglas, which made the transport, and Northrop, which built the F-89J. When its published, I will upload the crash audio and maybe snippets of interviews and slide show to YT. Trans-Iranian oil pipe line finished; . I was on the field when the DC7 came down. Part of an engine crashed through the roof of the church auditorium, smashing windows and destroying that building. Thanks for commenting. As a five-year-old, I was home with my mom. His friend, Richard Berger, was not as lucky and got severe burns over much of his back and legs. Could you put me in contact with David? In 2009 I was working as a behavioral specialist for the Summit County (Ohio) Juvenile Court. I am devastated by the deaths and injuries but so thankful that there were not more. Nanci mentioned walking home from Beach Ave. elementary. As a student there I always felt a reverence for those who were injured and killed. It was an emotional event for me. I went to Santa Monica College, and graduated from a business college with a degree in accounting and had a successful 40-year carrer in administration/accounting, married my husband, whom I met while spending our summers at Lake Arrowhead, have one daughter who is 41 and we are now retired and moved in 2007 to Prescott, AZ, after spending 34 years in Pasadena. The scenario was an airplane crash out of John Wayne Airport. Killed in the crash were three Pacoima students, the pilot of the F-89 and the four-man crew of the DC-7, whose final words to traffic control were, Uncontrollablewere spinning over the Valley. Thats all there is to it. This time I remembered to crawl under the desk. I remember being in the car with my panicked Mom on the way to the school. My mother, Pauline Taylor, covered the story as a reporter for the Pacoima Post. I had no idea Phyllis had gone out on the field to retrieve her jacket. We shared memories and that aroused my curiosity. And thanks for your excellent suggestion about bequeathing this sound file. I joined Newport Beach Fire Department in 1971. Most other California Counties have developed similar plans and most fire agencies now participate in these exercises. April 3, 1957; UK Tests a Hydrogen Bomb May 15, 1957; Little Rock Crisis Hello, Pamela Thanks for your fascinating website, and for the chilling and haunting audio of the plane crash at Pacoima Junior High School. I think this makes you my homey, Susan. Who knows? We were taught to shield our eyes from the blast (as if wed have enough time), then the blast then the concussion and we would be safe under our plywood desks if we dropped-and-covered quickly and properly. As you can see from the comments here, you are not alone. I was never sure if that was true or if it was just dads way of getting me to quit the band I was in at the time. Anyway after school mom would drive us all over to Joyces house to pick her up for babysitting. The accident was a few years before I was born, but my mother recalls him as well as the life changing accident. I cannot believe I came across this recording. Valens was not at school that day because he was attending the funeral of his grandfather. Sincerely, Susan Masters Kowalewski, Batavia, Illinois. Archie Raymond Twitchell (November 28, 1906 - January 31, 1957) was a pilot for over three decades between the 1920s and the 1950s. I can only imagine how weird and disturbing it would be to have such a pivotal life experience erased from memory. Yeah, haunting is right. At the time I remember thinking it was shredded paper. I was visiting with a new friend a couple of weeks ago and found out that we grew up in the same area. There was a small courtyard between our building and the building next to us. Are you going to go to Pacoima when you get out of sixth grade or is sixth grade now in middle school? If any reader happens to know what exactly was going on in the auditorium at the time of the crash, please write. Wow. I checked google maps and found that my cousin lived about 17 miles away from the crash. I was 13 months old. We often walked home together from Pacoima Junior High. Your account is the first Id heard about Berger and his music therapy pulling him through ah, the power of music. Thanks for this historic artifact. Missing that day was pop star Ritchie Valens. Thanks for your comment and compassionate thoughts. By the way, I went to Pacoima a decade later and there was still lots of music going on. Russ, I was just looking through the blog again for familiar names (I wrote my memories earliert). After my capture, I was taken into an office and told to wait. I mean its just wrong that such things happen, they were just 12 years old, and had their whole life ahead of them. Well done, Mr. Masek. From a fellow Beachy-ite, thanks for commenting If nothing else came from your efforts you should be satisfied that you helped out a survivor! The organizers believe the sound of an actual disaster will lend gravitas and realism to the drill. And i am also very shocked how people were not more clever at that time that they tested planes over areas that were populated, i mean its not like the technology was better before and yet they didnt seem to think further and let such things happend. I still watch El Encuentro now and then there is a lot of beauty in that work. There was a large flash and suddenly we heard the blast. 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. At some point at Madison Jr. HS (1967-1969), I was responsible for managing those loudspeaker announcements we use to have to sit through in homeroom. Needless to say, it was one heck of a day for mom. Always good to hear from a fellow Beachy-ite. 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. Though the San Fernando Valley was considerably less populated in 1957 than it is today, it was home to hundreds of thousands back then. If that is what you have, it is miraculous that it survived this many years, and it happened to be recording that very minute. They are very much appreciated. How on earth did I just remember that I cant even remember where I put the keys an hour ago?) Im so glad you were able to remember the coachs name Coach Vardanien. So he decided to record the speeches during this pre-graduation ceremony in front of the student body. So one link lead to another and as I read all of the stories, it brings tears to me! I felt sick and light headed. For those who have nightmares, I have always called them chase dreams. I used to have a lot of them, especially during my Paramedic years. An interesting bit of info regarding the parachuting radioman from the fighter jet: the heat in his cockpit was so intense that sparks ignited a few spots on his parachute. A lot of human misery occurred on that day. Rudy Trujillo I dont recall your Dad, but may well have had him as a teacher. This site has confirmed my memories of the crash. Its unusual enough to meet a fellow native Southern Californian these days, let alone four all connected in some way to the crash. Now and then saw the DC 7 crashing suffered with injuries or lost family members me, power. 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