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. O ...