Summary

The first chapter of Part I is titled, “Wednesday, January 28, 1948.” It begins at 10:40 a.m. just as someone named Red is watching a fiery bird crash into the ground just meters away, in a Prison Camp in California. His granddaughter Juney watches men pull out what she thinks are “cattle” (6). At first, the people on the scene think that the plane belongs to a friend named Verne. Investigators appear on scene, followed by a car belonging to the Mexican consul.

At 12:10 p.m., the managing editor of the local paper, the Coalinga Record, arrives to collect the facts. At 12:22 p.m., the cameramen arrive. The managing editors gets as many details as he can from Red Childers, the first man on the scene. He reports having seen smoke trailing off the red wing. Then he talks to Mabel Johnson, who recalls seeing the...