James Heathman

Who was James Heathman?

James Easter Heathman, also known as J. E. Heathman, was an American former farmer and U.S. Army veteran, who, as a teenager in 1931, witnessed and discovered the crash of TWA Flight 599, which killed eight people, most notably University of Notre Dame football coach, Knute Rockne. Heathman, who was 13 years old at the time he discovered the plane crash with his father on March 31, 1931, was the last living witness to the plane crash. Heathman later became a Knute Rockne historian and often lead free tours of Notre Dame fans to the site of the crash, especially during the last 20 years of his life.