The Epilogue treats the Alaskan airplane crash in August 1935 that took the lives of Rogers and his good friend, the pilot Wiley Post. This tragedy was followed by an outpouring of public grief not seen in America since the death of Abraham Lincoln seventy years before. A flood of eulogies, newspaper and magazine stories, radio broadcasts, and political speeches confirmed the Oklahoman’s standing as a beloved friend and folk hero to millions of Americans.