Camille Bohannon

It began on this day in 1965.

President Ronald Reagan’s bombing Russia joke during a voice
test for a political advertisement causes a Cold War flap on this
day in 1984.

On this day in 1992, in Bloomington, MN, the Mall of America
opened. It was the largest shopping mall in the United States.

Haley’s photo from his Service Record.

Alexander Murray Palmer "Alex" Haley
(August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992)

Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956)

Jackson Pollock was one of the greatest artists of his generation, well known
for his innovative style of drip painting (shown below). He died at the age of
44 after driving drunk and crashing into a tree in New York.   

Tim Maguire

The Convair 240 aircraft, registration N55VM, before the fatal crash 
in 1977.
 

Tim Maguire

John Denver (Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.)
(December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997)

John Denver and his Long-EZ aircraft.

                                
                                  Pilot Roger Peterson

(FoxNews) – The National Transportation Safety Board reportedly is considering
re-opening its investigation into the 1959 plane crash that killed rock and roll
stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

The Des Moines Register reports that a New England man named L.J. Coon,
who claims to be a retired pilot and aircraft dispatcher, petitioned the NTSB to
take a second look at the case. The Civil Aeronautics Board, the NTSB’s
predecessor in air crash investigation, ruled that the primary cause of the
crash seven miles north of Clear Lake, Iowa, was pilot error and poor
weather conditions. 

However, Coon told the Register via email that he wants investigators to
consider whether problems with the plane’s rudder pedals caused 21-year-
old pilot Roger Peterson to lose control of the plane. He theorized that
Peterson may have tried to glide the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza to
a landing before the plane’s right wing hit the ground, sending it cartwheeling
across a cornfield. Peterson was the fourth person to die in the crash, along
with the musicians.

"I believe that the NTSB will review pilot Peterson’s diagnostic actions in the
aircraft during this 3.5-minute flight and realize the heroic efforts that took
place in those 4.9 miles," Coon wrote.

The NTSB responded to Coon in an e-mail dated Feb. 19, 2015, and read in
part "You have gotten our attention." A final decision on a re-investigation
could take several weeks.