'Two years ago'...

Hard to believe it's been two years since the publication of
my book on decades spent in the funeral business.

The response has been awesome, and all of you have my
extreme thanks for your support.

2017 brings new challenges, personally and professionally.


A new book is underway, more about that coming up...



My Facebook community and blog readers are sensational, loyal and dedicated; you are all the best!

Stay safe, sane, pray for our new president. Enjoy your family, friends and neighbors. Our time here is short indeed... let us all invest in it wisely.

'The pistol and the exhumation'....

This is the final installment in the five part series about

the Buddy Holly crash of 1959.  The other four parts

are here as you scroll down. I'ts an incredible story,

and fascinating to review.  Hope you've enjoyed it. 

The pistol and the exhumation….

A few weeks after the Buddy Holly plane crash, farmer Albert Juel was plowing the field

where the crash had occurred.  Holly owned a 22 caliber handgun and had placed it in the

bottom compartment of his overnight bag. During the crash, the bag had been thrown out

and had been torn open, dislodging the gun in the snow. It remained there and was found

the day farmer Juel was plowing. Juel took the gun and turned it into the local sheriff, but

not before firing the weapon himself. (There is difference of opinion on whether or not he

shared that ‘firing’ information with the sheriff.)   

After testing, it had been determined that the gun had been recently fired…. giving all

kinds of speculation that something might have happened on board that flight involving

the pistol. The facts finally surfaced, but not before planting a seed of inquiry into the mind

of Jay Richardson, only son of J.P. Richardson the Big Bopper.

It’s summer 2007, the Big Bopper’s son Jay Richardson wanted to have his father exhumed.

He had never seen his father, J.P. had died three months before Jay’s birth. There were

unanswered questions…how severe were his father’s injuries? On a long shot, was that pistol

involved in some way, shape or manner?  His father’s body was found the farthest from

the airplane wreckage… had he survived the crash and tried to go for help?  And so

Jay employed Dr. Bill Bass a credentialed forensic anthropologist to examine his father

upon his exhumation. The grave was at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont, Tx.

There were a few people present at the exhumation including a film crew. The grave was

opened, the vault was raised, opened and the metal Batesville Casket removed. It was

in extremely good shape for being interred 48 years. In a private setting later that morning

the casket was opened and Jay saw his father for the first time. By all accounts the

Big Bopper was fully recognizable with his familiar crew cut he sported in 1959. The

embalming had been superb, and the restorative art to his features also done well.

Dr. Bass and his assistants removed the body, performed an extensive examination and

multiple groupings of x-rays. Dr. Bass concluded and reported to Jay that there was

no foul play in the death of his father and that he had died from massive trauma, and

that he died instantly.  Batesville Casket Co. provided a new casket in which J.P. was

placed and a small procession drove him to his new resting place. The rumors

were nixed, Jay had seen his father for the first and only time, and had laid his father

back to rest. Sadly, Jay himself passed away in August of 2013.   

So the rumor that the pistol was somehow involved in the crash was finally

dismissed.  Jay Richardson finally got to see his father for the first time….it

must have been a  very bittersweet day for him, for sure.  

February 3^rd of 1959 is talked and written about a lot…even 58 years later.

The lack of sophisticated weather tracking, communications and equipment

were most likely all factors in this terrible day. Accidents similar to this are

rare today. The four lost that day will not be forgotten. Their memories will

be perpetuated as time marches on…and that’s the way it should be.

The picture is of the casket of J. P. Richardson being disinterred in 

2007. His son Jay requested a full autopsy and a chance to see his

father, for the first and only time. 

The conclusions....

The conclusions of the crash…

Before the NTSB, there was the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).  They were the official

agency in charge of investigating the who, what and why of the Holly plane crash.

The post crash investigation at the scene came to no immediate conclusions. The

instrumentation all appeared normal with gauges and readings in their acceptable

parameters.  The engine gave no clues to mechanical failure or loss of power, the

propeller hub upon inspection proved the engine was performing normally at the

point of impact.

There was no part of parts of the wing, or moveable control surfaces

 found far away from the aircraft that might indicate an early departure from the fuselage  before the crash. Upon reviewing the autopsy report of pilot Roger Peterson, nothing remarkable was found that would indicate a medical emergency that would affect his flying senses or motor functions.

His injuries as the other victims were of mass trauma including the head and brain.

The young pilot Peterson was certified to operate under visual flight rules; i.e.

you need to be able to see where you are going. On that particular night, the lack of

a good horizon, low clouds, minimal amount of ground lights in the little populated area

would all make for poor visual flying. Add into the mix some gusting winds, perhaps

a snow squall engulfing the airplane and his not being familiar with the on board gyro

system could bring about spatial disorientation.., thinking you are actually gaining

altitude when in reality you are descending. CAB also mentioned that the weather

briefing was ‘seriously inadequate’ which was given Peterson. To my knowledge the

CAB never attempted to calculate the final weight of the aircraft with its’ passengers,

fuel and luggage.. if the aircraft was overloaded and the center of gravity was

compromised the plane would be severely challenged to fly correctly.  In 2015, the NTSB,

who succeeded the CAB had considered re-opening the crash investigation. That was

proposed by a pilot L.J. Coon, who felt the first conclusions were not correct.

He thought a possible right rudder failure, fuel readings and that improper weight

distribution as mentioned above could be involved. Coon also thought that Peterson

may have tried to land the aircraft, a distinct possibility, and that his efforts should

be noted in the official record. The NTSB in 2016 considered re-opening the

investigation into the crash, but it never happened. And there you have it.

 There are rumors the plane still exists…..and that the Dwyer family has at

least part of it hidden away. (Jerry and Barb Dwyer, were the owners of the airplane.)

Jerry Dwyer passed away in Clear Lake in January 2016. He was writing a book

about the whole affair…his wife has stated she will continue and eventually

finish the book in his memory and honor.

Next and finally; the pistol found at the scene and the years later exhumation

of J.P. Richardson

A quick note..

The first three writings about the Buddy holly crash you will find below.
By the end of the week, the final two will be published; the conclusions
of the investigation and a story about a pistol found at the scene, and
the exhumation of the Big Bopper.

Just confirmed today; on Friday, Feb. 3rd at 10:10 a.m., I'll be on the
air in Rochester with brother Wease and his morning show. It's the
58th anniversary of the Holly crash and we'll be talking about it
extensively. You can hear it live by just googling the Wease,
Rochester, N.Y... it will take you to I Heart radio...you can hear it
wherever you might be.  Hope you'll join us for a great show on
Friday, Feb. 3rd, 10:10 a.m. ! The picture is of brother Wease in his
studio at FM 95.1.

'The crash'...

The crash site….

Unfortunately the Beechcraft with Buddy Holly and three others had not gone far.

In less than five minutes and traveling under six miles, the aircraft impacted the terrain

at high speed, descending into a steep bank, hitting the right tip of the wing and leaving

a trail of debris 450 feet long, the remainder of the fuselage rolling into a ball and stopping

at a fence line. Here was an eerie scene for those who arrived the next morning. Four young men with great potential lying around a shattered airplane in a field. There were no witnesses to the crash. Upon exam, the instruments in the plane read as follows: Fuel pressure,

oil temperature and pressure gauges were stuck in the green or normal range.

The attitude gyro indicator was stopped in a reading indicating a 90 degree angle.

Also, the rate of climb indicator was stopped at 3,000 feet per minute descent.

The airspeed indicator was stopped showing between 165-170 mph.

The seat belts had all suffered failures either in their attachment points or buckles.

The violent force of the crash itself resulted in Holly, Richardson and Valens all being

thrown from the aircraft. The pilot Petersons’ body was trapped in the cockpit. The deceased were all covered in light snow which had accumulated overnight. The aircraft did

 not catch fire, the landing gear was retracted at the time of the crash. The propeller hub gave evidence that the engine was under power when hitting the ground. County coroner Ralph Smiley certified that all victims died instantly, cause of death ‘gross trauma to brain’ for the

three recording artists and brain damage for pilot Peterson. The bodies were removed

from the site that morning. The only autopsy performed was that on the pilot

Peterson. Only macroscopic physical exams noting injuries to substantiate cause of death were

performed on Holly, Richardson and Valens.  

Next up; the conclusions of investigators

'The take off'.....

The take off, the short flight.. the crash

At 12:55am on Tues. Feb. 3^rd, pilot Roger Peterson eased the nose of the Beechcraft

Bonanza airplane out on runway 17 at the Mason City Airport. On board, Buddy Holly,

J.P. Richardson and Richie Valens. (Yes, Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to the Big

Bopper…that is another whole story in itself.) The weather had downgraded a bit, but not

significantly since the last weather check by Peterson and his boss Hubert Dwyer. The ceiling was now down to 3,000 feet from 6,000 feet, and a front was approaching with light snow, winds were 20 to 30 mph and visibility was 6 miles, the temperature was a frigid 18 degrees.  Remember, Peterson was flying visually, with no instrument ratings. The flight, only 311 miles would take about two hours.

Hubert Dwyer watched as the airplane lifted off the runway, made an initial left turn

onto a northwesterly heading and started climbing to its’ designated flight level of 800 feet.

Dwyer watched the tail light of the aircraft as it disappeared out of view…. that was

just about 1:00 am. Peterson had planned to file a flight plan once in the air, and was

to radio Dwyer once settled in for the flight.  When Peterson had failed to make

contact, several attempts to communicate with the aircraft were made and all were

unsuccessful. At daylight, Dwyer in another airplane, went to trace the route of Holly’s

plane…… and the wreckage was found less than 6 miles from the airport. It hadn’t gotten

far. Had there been a structure failure? Did Peterson quickly discover the weather was

worse than he thought and was he turning to go back? Did the plane have too much

weight with passengers and luggage? Was there an engine problem that

could have caused loss of power? All good questions which would eventually be

confronted.

The aircraft shown here was very similar to the Beechcraft Bonanza being 

flown that day.  

Next up: the crash site and the investigation.

Feb 3rd, '59 re-visited

This is the first of several writings regarding that fateful day
of Feb. 3rd, 1959. All the information was taken from public
documents, records and accounts of that most horrific day
that robbed the music industry of some great entertainers.
I hope you find them interesting.

The pilot, Roger Peterson.  Age age 21, was young, having been licensed in 1954, Roger had accumulated 711 hours of flying experience, 128 of those hours in the Beechcraft  Bonanza, an aircraft with a strange v shaped tail assembly.  It was known as the ‘dr. killer’ because it had many crashes involving amateur pilots, many of them physicians. The aircraft’s top speed

was 165-175 miles per hour, and this version of the aircraft seated the pilot, three passengers

and their luggage.

Roger’s boss Hubert Dwyer was owner of Dwyer’ flying service, owner of the aircraft which

was designated N3794N. On the evening of the incident, Monday Feb. 2^nd, both Dwyer and

Peterson had made several stops at the weather control center at the Mason City

airport.  The weather was wintry, light snow, winds from the south at 20 mph, ceiling

of 6,000 ft. Dwyer I’m sure was a bit concerned for the flight because of the three famous

people being transported later that night. But it’s quite evident he had confidence in Peterson who had accumulated his hours on charter flights. The flight was going to be 311 miles as the

‘crow flies’, from Mason City to Fargo, N.D.  Fargo’s airport was the closest to their next

gig to be held the following day in Moorhead, Minnesota.

And so it was that evening that pilot Peterson and his passengers of Holly, J.P. Richardson

and Ritchie Valens started on their fateful journey.

As a note; pilot Peterson only had his visual flight rules certification. He had taken 9 months

before, his instrument rating exam and had failed it. So what did this mean? Well,

he would be flying by sight only, landmarks, horizon, lights. Using a compass and the on

board

Sperry attitude gyro. Now that was another challenge. Peterson was used to flying with the

traditional horizontal horizon gyro….and not the Sperry gyro. This is a bit complicated, but

basically, incorrect readings can be taken if not totally familiar with the instrument.

The aircraft was loaded with the luggage and personals and Buddy Holly took the seat

in the front next to pilot Peterson, with Valens and Richardson sitting behind. A last check

and it was off to Fargo and then to Moorhead for more rock and roll.

Next up; the takeoff, the short flight, the crash.