Accordionist Joseph Soprani shares his amazing adventure and miraculous survival of a plane crash: “My Thanksgiving Story”. It is a true and inspirational story:

“The story that I am going to write about is similar to the one I presented at the Kimmel center for Peter Nero and the Philly Pops in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the USO and I might add that my presentation and performance was voted the best program of the 2005 season.

As you know the purpose of the USO was to bring a touch of home to our service men and women and it has been written that few events have left a more lasting emotional impression on them than USO shows. The USO has brought top quality entertainment to millions of US military personnel throughout the world since 1944 and i am proud to have been a part of that development. My relationship with USO dates back to the beginning of my career and at age 11 I started doing USO shows for our service men and women. Many of you, I’m sure, remember Jack Steck(Starlite stairway), Stanley Broza of the children’s hour, Bailey Goss(Balt. MD), and Paul Whiteman(right after the incident I was invited on his New York radio show to perform with his 50 piece orchestra and tell my story. He then presented me with a gold watch for my services with USO).

Over the years many articles have been written about my USO days such as:” The Longest Hour”, “Lucky to be Alive”, “Songs in the Key of Life”, “Accordionist Plays and Lives with Gusto”, “Musician 18 Safe After Plane Crash”; and the most recent one called “Not Everything Goes Accordion to Hoyle” appeared in the official publication of Korean war veterans called the Graybeards.

This is my story: On Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1953 I survived a plane crash while traveling with the USO. after winning the Arthur Godfrey talent scouts show I was called by the USO organization in New York to headline a USO unit: “Broadway Ballyhoo”, made up of ten performers, was formed and I was chosen as band leader and accordion soloist. and at 18 I became the youngest USO entertainer. the tour which was scheduled for Japan, Korea and the Pacific Islands for 17 weeks began quietly and without fanfare. We left from La Guardia airport in New York on August 31, 1953 and arrived in Tokyo, Japan 4 days later. after rehearsing for 3 days we were ready for the 17 weeks that lay ahead. And for the next 70 days we performed 2 and 3 shows a day in different towns and military bases in Korea(30) and Japan(15). We never did get to the Pacific Islands.

The Broadway Ballyhoo unit collectively had many years of show business experience with such names as Bob Hope, Woody Herman, Ed Sullivan, the Dorsey Brothers, Xavier Cugat not to mention stage and screen and TV experience. Our show ran two hours and was a top notch variety production from beginning to end. It consisted of a guitar and banjo act(Bill Roberts), a magician(Norma Krieger), a dance act consisting of mother, father, sister, brother(the evans family), and my accordion solos. our trio consisted of accordion(Joe Soprani), trumpet(ed house), and drums(Mel Zelman)… and comedian, Joe Wong…ten people in all. I remember on one occasion when it got so cold(all performances were outside) we wore gloves during the show. but, I managed to play “Flight of the Bumble Bee with gloves.

On November 26, 1953, which started out like any other day on the tour was to be a day that I will remember for the rest of my life. We had just completed our first show at Iwakuni Air Base and was scheduled to fly to Miho, Japan, less than an hour away. We were treated to a Thanksgiving Day dinner before departing and were scheduled for two more shows in Miho. The military flight was routine and was scheduled to depart at 1:30 PM. However, because of engine problems our flight(c-47) was canceled. Another plane(c-46) was available for our use. We finally boarded the plane at 4:PM. By that time, however, we picked up 15 more passengers and many bags of US mail.

After having performed over 100 shows in 73 days in 15 cities in Japan and 30 cities in Korea for over 200,000 troops and traveling over 15,000 miles, it was not difficult to determine that this plane was overcrowded and overloaded. but, we were assured by the officers in charge that “everything is fine”.

We were five minutes away from Miho, but it was raining and getting dark, making it difficult for the pilot to find the runway. He circled and tried again. This time he was instructed to come in on GCA(ground control approach). When the pilot realized that he overshot the runway, he tried to gain altitude but couldn’t. We sensed trouble. At that moment there was a tremendous jolt. We did not know it at the time but, we were traveling 140 miles an hour when we hit water. We came to a halt approximately 4 miles from shore. Lights inside the plane had gone out and for a moment it looked like the end.

There was a pause after impact. No explosion! No fire! There was quiet calm. All of a sudden crewmen came flying by passing over all the mail and baggage that had been strapped in the center of the plane and shouting at us to get out of the plane! Split-second decisions had to be made from this point on. One of the crewmen managed to open the four escape hatches. Two life rafts were tossed out and inflated. Each life raft, we were told, can hold twelve people. Thirty people were aboard the plane. It didn’t take much to figure out that some of us would not fit in the raft. 30 people were aboard the plane; 10 USO members, 5 crewmen, and 15 other passengers. Most of the passengers were out of the plane by now, but our trumpet player, our unit manager and I were still on the wing trying to make up our minds what to do next.

The plane was sinking fast. Our manager suddenly realizes that he left his briefcase on the plane with our passports and important documents so he decides to go back in to retrieve it. When he came back out he realized what he had just done and almost threw the briefcase back in. Then our trumpet player, who was a camera buff, decides that this was a good time to record these moments for posterity and from the sinking plane he began to grind his camera like mad. It was amazing! I had never experienced anything like it. The three of us finally jumped from the plane into the icy waters. There we were in the very cold sea not knowing what was going to happen next. Were we going to survive? Did we have to worry about shark?

in less than 5 minutes we had evacuated the plane which was disappearing before our eyes. We lost all of our possessions; including our wardrobe, music, our instruments and my $1200 accordion which was a gift from my grandfather. Everyone was calm at first but by now, an hour later, some of us began to panic and became hysterical. Shock was beginning to set in. We thought we would freeze to death. Suddenly from a distance we could see a light coming in our direction. It was one rescue boat to bring in the 30 survivors. The Air Force rescue team expected the usual; no survivors.

We were all taken to the base hospital and a week later we were making arrangements to get back to the USA. Needless to say after that experience no one wanted to fly. It took us 14 hours by train from Miho to Tokyo, 14 days on the USN general O. Darby military troop ship from Yokahama to Seattle, and from Seattle everyone went their separate ways. It took me 3 days by train to Phila. It was the longest and lonliest 3 days of my life. I arrived home at 30th street station in Phila. on December 27, 1953 to the waiting arms of my loving family.

After the crash I promised myself that I would never fly again as long as I lived. Two years later I auditioned and was accepted into the United States Air Force as accordion soloist with the United States Air Force band in Washington, DC for 4 years and traveled the globe. How you asked? By plane, of course.
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This story has been reported many times over the years and has appeared in many
newspapers and magazines, but, I am still asked about it. even after all this time, especially around this time of year, I relive every minute of that Thanksgiving Day of 1953.

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In addition to performing in Broadway shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof”, “Zorba”, “Cabaret” and “Irma la Douce”, Joe has performed in world premieres of “Frida,” a musical that called for a virtuoso accordionist and “Another Kind of Hero,” a musical which featured him on stage for an entire scene.

Joe, who appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and won the Arthur Godfrey Show, appeared with TV Star Nell Carter in a “Colors of Freedom” production at the Convention Center in Philadelphia in 1995. He also appeared with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops playing a special arrangement by Nero with Soprano Evelyn de LaRosa.

In November of 1997, Soprani became the first accordionist to perform in “La Traviata” by Verdi presented by the Opera Company of Philadelphia, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Klaus Arp, the opera conductor from Germany, decided to use the accordion in the small ensemble on stage during “La Banda” sections.

Joe has also performed with Russell Watson on Good Morning America, and continues to promote the accordion as a serious instrument at various clubs and organizations. His workshops at schools and colleges, where he demonstrates his skills as performer and arranger to young composers and arrangers, have been well received.

Presently he is planning to perform his unique arrangement of Eugene Ettore’s “Manhattan Concerto” with a symphony orchestra. See future publications for more information on this exciting project!

For further information: joesoprani@gmail.com