Tagged: Woody Guthrie

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We want to turn, now, to a current effort to address a decades-old tragedy. In 1948, a U.S. Immigration Service plane carrying undocumented immigrants from California to Mexico, crashed. All 32 people onboard were killed. But while news accounts listed the names of the four people in the flight crew, the 28 undocumented victims were just listed as Mexican deportees.

This week on Valley Edition we look into an airplane disaster that took place in the hills near Coalinga 65 years ago. The accident grabbed national headlines and even inspired a song by Woody Guthrie titled 'Deportee.' Valley Public Radio reporter Rebecca Plevin explores the tragedy with the help of local author Tim Z. Hernandez and his quest to ensure that those who died in the crash are not forgotten. Hernandez, along with the Fresno Diocese and Holy Cross Cemetery are working together to erect a memorial headstone with the full names of all 28 passengers.