Roger Peterson (pilot)
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Roger Arthur Peterson (May 24, 1937 – February 3, 1959) was the pilot of the aircraft whose crash claimed the lives of rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson as well as himself. The event came to be known as "The Day the Music Died".
Peterson was born and raised in Alta, Iowa, the eldest of four children born to Arthur and Pearl Peterson. By 1959, he had been flying for over four years, receiving his private pilot's certificate in October 1955 and commercial pilot's certificate in April 1958; a short time later he was hired as a pilot for Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa. On September 14, 1958, Peterson married Deanne Lenz, whom he had been dating since their junior year of High School; the couple resided in Clear Lake, Iowa, a short drive to Mason City where both worked. In January 1959, Peterson received certification as a limited Flight Instructor, though he was still working on his flight instruments training and was not rated for night-time flying.
On the evening of February 2, 1959, the manager of the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake contacted Peterson to arrange a charter flight from Mason City to Fargo, North Dakota. The Ballroom was hosting the Winter Dance Party that evening and one of the tour's performers, Buddy Holly, wanted to fly ahead of the rest of the tour members, who were traveling by bus. Peterson agreed to take the flight, and when the performers arrived at the airport, he learned that in addition to Holly, his other two passengers would be Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.
The plane, a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza (registration number N3794N), took off in light snow from Mason City Airport around 1:00 on the morning of February 3, 1959. Minutes later the Beechcraft crashed in a cornfield eight miles northwest of the airfield, killing Peterson and his three passengers. The Civil Aeronautics Board concluded the primary cause of the crash was pilot error, citing Peterson's inability to interpret the instruments he was forced to read due to the weather conditions with a secondary factor being that the pilot had not been informed of adverse flash weather forecasts.
A memorial service for Roger Peterson was held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Ventura, Iowa on February 5. A funeral was held the next day at St. Paul Lutheran Church in his hometown of Alta; Peterson was buried in Buena Vista Memorial Cemetery in nearby Storm Lake. Peterson's parents would later receive condolence letters from the families of Holly and Valens. Peterson's widow, Deanne, remarried ten years after Roger's death.
In June 1988, a 6 foot-tall granite memorial bearing Peterson and the three entertainers' names was dedicated outside the Surf Ballroom with Peterson's widow, parents and sister in attendance; the event marked the first time that the families of Holly, Richardson, Valens, and Peterson had gathered together.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Amburn, Ellis, Buddy Holly: A Biography, St. Martin's, 1995 ISBN 0-312-13446-0
- Lehmer, Larry, The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, Schirmer, 1997 ISBN 0-02-864741-6
