the scene eight minutes later, but found only an oil slick. His body was never recovered. He was one month and seven days away from his 25th birthday, and was the first Heisman Trophy winner to die. Iowa sportscaster Tait Cummins said, "Kinnick proved one thing, that college athletics could be beautiful. Everything that can be said that is good about college athletics he was. He didn't represent it... he was it." In a letter to Kinnick's parents, his lieutenant commander Paul Buie wrote, "Having lost all oil the engine, without lubrication, failed, forcing Nile to land in the water." Kinnick's squadron mate, Bill Reiter, also confirmed that the oil leak was so bad that Kinnick was forced to land four miles before he could reach the Lexington. This varies slightly from the often-repeated legend that Kinnick could have made it back to the ship but instead chose to land in the water to spare the ship's crew from danger. While Kinnick gave his life for his country, the decision to land his plane in the water was standard military procedure, and a landing on the Lexington in his situation was an impossibility rather than a deliberately bypassed option. There is also some uncertainty about exactly how Kinnick died. Reiter was the only person who claimed to have seen Kinnick clear of the plane and motionless in the water. Reiter died three months later. Since Kinnick's body was never found, it is possible that he was still tethered to the plane when it sank. Dick Tosaw, whose brother played high school football with Kinnick, has repeatedly pursued the idea of finding Kinnick's plane and making a monument at Kinnick Stadium or Kinnick's alma mater Adel–De Soto–Minburn High School. The possibility, however remote, that Kinnick's body is still with the plane led to overwhelming opposition to Tosaw's efforts; Kinnick's father opposed the idea, saying that it would be like digging up his son's grave. Kinnick's teammates were also unanimously opposed to the idea. Such strong opposition from Kinnick's teammates, relatives, and fans stopped Tosaw's plans. Legacy Honors Numerous honors for Nile Kinnick have been created since his death. During the United States occupation of Japan, the Eighth Army renamed Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium in Tokyo "Nile Kinnick Stadium." A high school in Yokosuka, Japan, for dependents of military personnel is named Nile C. Kinnick High School. The coin flipped at the