The Day the Navy's Music Died

On February 25, 1960, a U.S. Navy plane carrying 19 members of the Navy's band collided with a Brazilian jet over Rio de Janiero killing all 19 of the musicians. All of the talented musicians, who formed the orchestra, were stationed at the U.S. Naval Weapons plant in Washington, D.C. They were to perform at a dinner that President Eisenhower was giving for the Brazilian president.

On February 25, 2010, 50 years after the tragic crash, members of the musicians' families gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute the band members at a ceremony where the Navy band performed.

Fourteen of the crash victims are buried in two rows of graves in the order they would be playing in the orchestra -- violins, clarinets, French horms, trumpets in formation. 

To read about the crash, visit http://www.navyband.navy.mil/pdfs/washpostart.pdf