ROSS SIMPSON
On this day in 1898, the USS Maine sank when it exploded in Havana Harbor for unknown reasons. More than 260 crew members were
killed. The episode escalated tensions between the United States
and Spain and contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American
War two months later.
BRIAN THOMAS
It was on this day in 1959.
(NOTE) Holly’s mother and his widow both learned he had died from
the news. Ever since, police departments have made it a policy not
to release a victim’s name until their family has been notified.
A 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza (Model 35), similar to the aircraft that crashed.
Gull Avenue, Crash site is located west of intersection of 315th Street and Gull Avenue., Clear Lake, IA.
Former KGW radio D.J. Red Robinson (left) and Buddy Holly.
TIM MAGUIRE
The Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore-hauling freighter and its crew of 29
vanished during a storm in Lake Superior on this day in 1975. It was
the largest ship to sail on the Great Lakes.
Edmund Fitzgerald in its watery grave.
On this day in 1969, the children’s TV series "Sesame Street" made
its debut on PBS.
Shown above is an early cast and crew photo. (click to enlarge)
CAMILLE BOHANNON
On this day in 1945, Japan surrendered to the U.S. aboard the USS
Missouri, ending World War II. The war ended six years and one day
after it began.
Douglas MacArthur signs the Japanese surrender documents.
On this day in 1864, during the U.S. Civil War, Union forces led by
Gen. William T. Sherman (below) occupied Atlanta following the
retreat of the Confederates.
On this day in 1944, future President George Herbert Walker Bush
is serving as a torpedo bomber pilot in the Pacific theater of World
War II when his squadron is attacked by Japanese anti-aircraft guns
forcing Bush to bail out of the plane over the ocean. According to
the Navy’s records, Bush’s squadron was conducting a bombing
mission on a Japanese installation on the island of Chi Chi Jima in
the Pacific when they encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. The engine
on Bush’s plane was set ablaze, yet Bush managed to release his
bombs and head back toward the aircraft carrier San Jacinto before
bailing out over the water.
George H.W. Bush turned 94 in June.
The Great Fire of London broke out on this day in 1666. It burned for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul’s Cathedral
with only six fatalities.
It was announced on this day in 1985, the Titanic had been found on
by a U.S. and French expedition 560 miles off Newfoundland. The
luxury liner had been missing for 73 years.
A photograph of the Titanic believed to have been taken the day
before she left on her ill-fated voyage in 1912.
The last known photo of Titanic heading out for open sea off the
coast of Ireland.
CAMILLE
BOHANNON
The Pentagon reported the first of two North Vietnamese attacks on
U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin on this day in 1964. The attack sparks escalation of the Vietnam War.
The guided missile destroyer USS McCormick is fired upon by North Vietnamese shore batteries.
Iraq invaded the oil-rich country of Kuwait on this day in 1990. Iraq claimed that Kuwait had driven down oil prices when it exceeded
production quotas set by OPEC. Saddam Hussein became the
President of Iraq.
Toppling the statue of Saddam Hussein during the invasion of Iraq.
Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s encounter with a Japanese destroyer
on the night of August 1, 1943, may be the most famous small-craft engagement in naval history. The vessel sank on this day in 1943.
Future U.S. President Lieutenant John F. Kennedy aboard the PT-109.
It was on this day in 1923.
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923)
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876)
The card hand held by Hickok at his death, now
widely known as the "dead man’s hand".
Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall
on this day in 1876.
Jack McCall (1852 or 1853 – March 1, 1877) was
also known as "Crooked Nose" or "Broken Nose
Jack".
Hickok’s star on the Texas Trail of Fame in the Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas.
