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Only 1 BodyRecoveredTragedy SiteiIBy ZEL OWSLEYToday I held a twisted piece of metal in the palm of my hand. I picked it up in Port Chicago, two miles from the spot where it sped from the flaming explosion of an ammunition ship docked in the port.Today, I saw six-inch splinters floating on the smooth waters outside Port Chicago, only remnants of the ship. Today, I learned from a naval officer that only one body of the still unestimated scores who died on that ship had been recovered.Today, I talked to a 26-year-old Negro sailor who saw his buddy die and he himself was one of six out of a barracks of one hundred ]f who came out unscathed.LIFE GOES ONToday, I saw American people, Army, Navy and civilian, pick up the pieces of life after the most devastating disaster that has ever struck a small section of the western coast. I saw order and sanity and courtesy emerge from chaos and tragedy and confusion.In Port Chicago, not a single building stands undamaged today. Hotels, restaurants, markets, bar-' ber shops and the theater vie with * the homes of citizens in presentinga scene of unparalleled destruction.Along the highway, where the naval barracks and the $250,000 recreation hall may be seen, it looks as if a gigantic hurricanerrnntlnned on Pare 8. Column 11
Newspaper Details
Berkeley Daily Gazette
Berkeley, California, US
Tue, Jul 18, 1944
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
