The 1957 Memorial Day Plane Crash in Northeast Minneapolis (with Dave Edholm)

The 1957 Memorial Day Plane Crash in Northeast Minneapolis (with Dave Edholm)

From Hangin' Out with Bob by Bob Edholm

July 21, 2026 · 49 min · Season 2 · Episode 12

About this episode

Bob Edholm and his brother Dave recount the tragic 1957 Memorial Day plane crash in Northeast Minneapolis that they witnessed as children.

It was a beautiful Memorial Day holiday in 1957, just a little after eleven o’clock. Two young brothers, ages 4 and 2½, were playing on the swing set in the backyard of their house in Northeast Minneapolis. Suddenly, their quiet, peaceful morning was interrupted by the roar of a plummeting jet fighter plane that crashed directly onto the street just a block away from where the brothers were playing. Within seconds of the crash, the stunned boys spotted a giant fireball that rose above the rooftops and treetops in their neighborhood. Their dad rushed out of the house to get them safely inside the house. How did the crash happen? Four U.S. Navy fighter jets had just flown over a nearby cemetery as part of a traditional Memorial Day ceremony. Tragically, two of those jets collided in midair over Northeast Minneapolis and crashed. One of the pilots was killed, nine civilians on the ground were injured, and several homes were burned. The pilot of the second plane was able to parachute to safety. It turns out that podcast host Bob Edholm and his brother Dave were the two young boys playing on the swing set just a block away from where one of the planes crashed. As young as they were in…

People in this episode

Host: Bob Edholm

Guest: Dave Edholm

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Navy

Places: Northeast Minneapolis

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