This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
On January 31, 1957, a Douglas DC-7B transport plane crashed into the school yard of Pacoima Junior High School, 9919 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, after colliding with a Northrop F-89J Scorpion jet trainer plane. Debris was also strewn across the grounds of Terra Bella Elementary School, adjacent to the junior high, and Pacoima Congregational Church, next door to the school. Three students and five airmen died and many more students were injured. The radarman aboard the jet was the only airman who survived. See images 00147115 through 00147134 for all photos in this series. Photograph caption dated January 9, 1959 reads, "He can smile, now - Vito Galasso Jr., 14, shows recovery from severe burns suffered in Pacoima Junior High air crash tragedy two years ago. He accepts runner-up trophy from dentist Harold W. Barnes in Valleywide smile contest." See images 00147125 through 00147127 for all photos in this series.
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