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| Clear Lake resident Mike Tefft with your faithful scribe. |
We drove out to the horn-rimmed glasses that mark the spot where you leave your car to trek the quarter-mile to the crash site. (Crash documents state it to be a half mile walk, but it didn't feel quite that.) As you can see from the photo (right) our mood was upbeat as we disembarked.
Once there, however, the crash site makes an impression on you, especially when you let your imagination run with it. Mike pointed to a spot 50 feet from the crash where Richardson's body was found in the cornfield beyond the fence. Many have wondered whether he was thrown from the wreck or managed to stagger to that place where he lost his powers to go on. Upon reading the coroner's report, walking away from the crash seems impossible. Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens were also thrown from the plane, each found approximately 17 feet from the wreck. The 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza slammed into the ground nose first and cartwheeled more than 500 feet to the fence-line where it tumbled to a stop.
The photos on this page show how the location of the tragedy has been memorialized. It was a very sad day in music history, and especially for the friends and loved ones who knew these four young men who died.
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| The four blue dots represent the four lives that had been taken that night. |
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| A sobering Civil Aeronautics Board photo. (Public domain.) |
Chronological Presentation of Final Hours
Photos of the crash site and subsequent investigation along with official crash documents
The Day the Music Died
14 comments:
thanks. for those wanting to visit the site here are directions:
From the Surf Ballroom in town, drive north on Buddy Holly Place. Turn right at the stoplight onto US Hwy 18. Drive a half-mile. Turn left at the stoplight onto N. 8th St. Drive north about five miles. As the road bends left, turn right onto gravel 310th St. Drive a quarter-mile, then turn left onto gravel Gull Ave. Drive a half-mile. You'll see the big eyeglasses on the left, at the intersection of 315th St. You can park on the shoulder.
I think you can put an address into your GPS also: 22728 Gull Ave., Clear Lake, IA
Thanks for this. I suppose not everyone has a friend in Clear Lake, so this is useful information.
Best,
e.
Nicely done, Ed. I didn't know that about the blue dots.
Buddy. My boyhood hero. Still the greatest and who can tell what he would have achieved if the music hadn't died!
Thanks for the note.
Since posting this yesterday I learned something new.... that the nickname for the Beechcraft plane that crashed was "American Pie." Need to confirm that, but it's quite an interesting tidbit.
Am also learning some additional things... which I will try to confirm.
best
e.
I was there for the first time last year on my 40th birthday. March 25th.Traveling for work and staying in a hotel close by. I went and toured the Surf right before it closed at 4pm. I was the only person there except for the wonderful elderly lady who was volunteering that day. She walked me around as I took pictures. It was amazing, it really was. I went out to the field that night right around 6pm. I stood there for about 10 minutes and I just felt lonely. It was a somber but important experience for me. I called both my mom and my wife and kids and then I walked back to my car.
I was there for the first time last year on my 40th birthday. March 25th.Traveling for work and staying in a hotel close by. I went and toured the Surf right before it closed at 4pm. I was the only person there except for the wonderful elderly lady who was volunteering that day. She walked me around as I took pictures. It was amazing, it really was. I went out to the field that night right around 6pm. I stood there for about 10 minutes and I just felt lonely. It was a somber but important experience for me. I called both my mom and my wife and kids and then I walked back to my car. If you love Rock and Roll and you are traveling through Iowa on Interstate 35. You should stop
I visited before Bob Dylan played the Iowa State Fair in 2000. The feeling was overwhelming as I entered what was then a soybean field. I sat at the site and played my guitar for about 30 minutes before ending my pilgrimage and heading to Des Moines. Thanks for posting the pictures.
Epic....
The plane was never named American Pie and I confirmed this with the owner of the plane after many discussions.
He never named any of his 11 planes nor did Roger Peterson name any according to the owner.
I was there 2 years ago and it truly was a moving moment. Buddy Holly was one of my favorite singers at the time and it took some time to believe he was really dead.
According to research I have done for a lecture, the owner of the Dwyer's charter flying service did not name his planes. This is one of many myths surrounding the tragedy. Also, J.P. Richardson suffered nearly 200 broken bones and a massively crushed chest. He did not crawl away from that wreckage. Some 40+ years after the crash, The Bopper's son had his father's body examined by a noted forensic examiner who stated he could not possibly survived the crash and to answer another myth, The Bopper had not been shot as he crawled away.
Thanks for weighing in. I read the coroners report on the three musicians and agree there is no way J.P. Richardson could have walked or crawled or even have been conscious.
I have some info from another forensic expert that I am trying to verify regarding the gun.
And as for the nickname of the plane... interesting.
All in all, a great tragedy.
again, thanks for your insights.
e.
The plane was NOT nicknamed American Pie. The plane crashed about 11 years before Don McClean even wrote the song!!!
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