NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — You may not be aware, but today marks the 75th anniversary of a tragic day in Nashville history. Longtime sportscaster Joe Dubin wants more people to know this story. In fact, he has a connection.
"Welcome back to the Chase & Big Joe Show!" Joe said, going live on 102.5 The Game.
Joe's always been in good company, broadcasting for nearly 30 years through avenues including TV stations, radio, and podcasts.
A lot of people know Joe. What far fewer know is Joe's connection to a tragic day in Nashville history.
"In 1950, there weren't many cemeteries around," Joe said, walking through Woodlawn Memorial Park.
Joe never knew his uncle Kenneth G. Eller. He died long before Joe was born. This is what Joe knows. At what was then West End High, now known as West End Middle, Kenneth was a student.
"He wanted to be like his two older brothers, go into the military," Joe said. "He wanted to be an architect. He played basketball. He was your all-American guy."
Kenneth G. Eller died July 23, 1950. 75 years ago, the news circulated through Nashville. More than 30 young men with the Tennessee Air National Guard had been training in Myrtle Beach.
"High school seniors who were coming back to their senior year of high school," Joe said.
Just after take-off in South Carolina, something went wrong with the plane, and it crashed. Kenneth was one of the 39 people killed.
"They brought the casket home and our grandmother said, 'I want him to spend one more night in our house before he's buried,'" Joe said.
The funeral procession brought out many to line the streets of Hillsboro Village.
"Our mom never really talked about it," Joe said. "She was 12-years-old. His death really left a void in her life. What could he have been? Where would he have gone to college? From what my mom's said, Nashville was devastated. The funeral homes were overrun. You're talking over 30 funerals in a span of three to four days. The city was paralyzed. There was a fatigue in the city because it was too much. Unfortunately, our uncle was part of this."
Though Joe's mother never talked a lot about her brother, Joe noticed something in so many old family pictures.
"Every time we took a family picture, we positioned where a picture of our uncle was behind us," Joe said. "He was always there, not always talked about."
"Here's a picture of all of them who passed away that day," Joe said, showing a 1950 Nashville Tennessean newspaper page.
Joe's brother Ric Eller has been key in preserving things linked to the story of their uncle. Ric stood with Joe in the cemetery, handing him a second newspaper.
"They added two days later," Ric said, showing a paper revising the earlier reported death toll. "It was such a bad tragedy, they didn't get the count right."
Ric then held up a folded flag given to the family in 1950.
"This is a forty eight star flag because Hawaii and Alaska weren't states at that time," he explained.
The way Joe sees it, this broadcasting platform he has can also be used to share this history.
"Sometimes you gotta use what God's given you to tell a story," he said.
Today, right next to Joe's uncle is where his mother is buried.
"I think she would be honored this story's still going on, still being told today," Joe said.
"I hope we never stop telling his story. It's important to Nashville we remember our history. We should never let it go."
I love a good "before and after" and Nick Beres comes through showing what some TLC can do for some pups found in deplorable conditions. It's so good to see these dogs on their way to a much better future. Enjoy this update!
- Carrie Sharp
