From left, American rock and roll legends Ritchie Valens, 17, Buddy Holly, 22, and J.P. ‘Big Bopper’ Richardson, 28, who died in a small-
plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959.

Rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P.
“The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashes in Iowa a few minutes after
takeoff from Mason City on a flight headed for Moorhead,
Minnesota. Investigators blamed the crash on bad weather and
pilot error. Holly and his band, the Crickets, had just scored a
No. 1 hit with “That’ll Be the Day.”

Gull Avenue Crash site is located west of intersection of 315th Street
and Gull Avenue., Clear Lake, IA.

MIKE GRACIA

On this day, Pvt. Eddie Slovik became the first American
soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion
and the only one who suffered such a fate during World
War II.

On this day in 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S.
Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as part of its plan to conquer Southeast Asian territories; the raid, which claims 2,400 American
lives, would prompt the United States to declare war against Japan
the next day.

The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

A view of the New York City skyline, as seen from the Empire State Building on September 10, 2001.

A storm passes over New York City on the evening of September 10, 2001.

On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist
group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks
against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into
the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane
hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane
crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people
were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.