"Washed Away" by Geoff Williams (2013)

It’s quite a coincidence that Geoff Williams new book “Washed Away”; the story of the Great Flood of 1913; should have been released in the weeks before the recent blizzard that crippled most of the northeastern portion of our nation. Why? Because that storm in 1913 was just about a mirror image of the one that we just experienced.

On March 23, 1913 a dozen tornadoes struck the Ohio Valley region and beyond, to 13 additional states from Arkansas to Vermont, with a ferocity rarely seen then, or; until recently; since. Over 700 deaths resulted from the flooding and the storms which followed. Blizzards in the Midwest also complicated matters, with the resultant melting snow swelling the banks of the Mississippi at the rate of 1 foot per hour the following month, as the snows melted. Of course, this water could not be used to drink, or cook with, until it had been boiled.

And speaking of fire to boil water; there were fires raging everywhere as gas lines ruptured and whole sections of towns burned while standing in the midst of water. There was simply no way to pump water on the fires to extinguish them.

Livestock perished; whole downtown areas of major cities such as Dayton, Ohio were completely submerged; and people walked across rooftops, on telephone wires, makeshift rafts, and any way in which they could get around in order to gather whatever food they could find.

Communications were still in the age of telephone and telegraph wires, which, strung on poles, did not do much good as the poles snapped like matchsticks in the fierce winds, as well as under the weight of accumulated ice. Hard to believe; but in many areas of the country today; that scenario has not changed one bit.

Train service was non-existent in many of the states hit hardest by the flooding as bridges collapsed under; or were simply washed away; by the torrents of water cascading beneath them. So many of the stories told in this book could have been taken from the newspapers of the last few weeks, that it simply boggles the mind.

Some folks will use this book as an argument against the existence of global warming, and they are; of course; welcome to their opinion. But the most important thing about this book is the complacency shown by so many of the victims of the Great Flood of 1913, and the sheer unpreparedness of the nation to cope with that disaster. The reason that it is so important is that not much has changed in the way disasters are handled today, 100 years after the Great Flood depicted so accurately in this book by Geoff Williams.

Using every available means at his disposal; newspaper articles, diary entries, old letters, and interviews with people who experienced the event; he has given life to what was the most widespread flood in the history of America. In doing so, he has also exposed some of the weaknesses still inherent in our national preparedness for disasters of this magnitude; which seem to be occurring more often than ever. This is a timely and well written book.

Hurricane Sandy Cars

This photo was taken last week flying over the old Grumman test facility, Calverton Airport, on Long Island. The airport is currently being used as a storage facility for the vehicles flooded by Hurricane Sandy You will have to enlarge the photo on your screen to really get an idea of the amount of cars which you are looking at. There are about 30,000 vehicles currently located there and more arriving each day.
 
Calverton Airport is where the wreckage of TWA 800 was reassembled for forensic purposes. Both runways are completely full. The total length of the runways is about 16,000 feet in length. That’s a lot of cars. And just imagine how many homes were affected as well. But this photograph gives you a very vivid and compact impression of the damage wrought by the storm.

"The Color of War" by James Campbell (2012)

By May of 1944 the war in the Pacific had gone from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor; in December of 1941; to a chain of island invasions, which forced the Japanese to adopt a defensive posture in the face of an ever tightening noose as our Navy and Marines advanced towards Japan itself. But, between that time, and our later victory, 2 events would occur; one, involving African-American sailors would be held up as an immediate example of the freedom lacking here at home, even as we fought for it overseas; while the other event, the explosion of several fully laden LST’s in the West Loch of Pearl Harbor, would be hushed up for 16 years.

On May 21^st, 1944 an explosion occurred aboard LST-353, igniting all of its cargo of ammunition, bombs and fuel. The burning shrapnel landed on other fully loaded LST’s causing them to explode as well. Hundreds of lives were lost, along with thousands of tons of supplies bound for Saipan. The continued spread of the disaster actually caused our Navy to sink some of the other vessels before those, too, caught fire.  The battle for Saipan, which would occur on July 18^th, was the last major stepping stone in our conquest of the Pacific. In fact, that battle was so decisive a victory for the United States that Tojo; and his entire cabinet; resigned the following day.
 
Against this backdrop, author James Campbell has juxtaposed the disaster which occurred at Port Chicago, located just 25 miles from San Francisco, as an example of how we were fighting not only Germany and Japan in this war; we were also fighting ourselves here at home. That disaster; on the same day as the Marines were taking Saipan; was the direct result of an Armed Forces which was still racially segregated even as we fought for freedom abroad. And, since the crews loading the ammunition ships were all African-American, someone was going to pay for the accident, even as the events in Hawaii just 8 weeks earlier were being hushed up.

The result of the Port Chicago disaster was the largest mutiny trial in the history of the Armed Forces, as the African-American sailors refused; rightfully so; to resume their work. As would be shown at their trial, these men had been working without any of the specified safety measures outlined in any of the manuals concerning the loading of explosives. Inert explosives are dangerous enough to handle; as are fuses; which are never to be stored in the same space as the explosives. That is, unless you were working at Port Chicago, where the rules simply didn’t apply.

The author follows the lives of several of the men charged with Mutiny; a crime punishable by death; from the days prior to their enlistments, and on through the events at Port Chicago. His coverage of the Court Martial; at which future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall would act as their Chief Counsel, having been supplied by the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund; is one of the most fascinating portions of the book. Charged with Mutiny and facing the Death Penalty, these 50 men, along with their Defense Team, would break new ground in the courtroom, and that victory would ultimately be a part of a greater one, when President Truman finally desegregated the military in 1947. That decision caused a rift in the Democratic Party which would never heal, and those repercussions still affect us today. The story of the Court of Inquiry is equally as fascinating, as its conclusions should have exonerated the men altogether.

All of this is played out against the Battle of Saipan, being fought by primarily white troops, who were winning the war by using the very supplies which were shipped to them via the men loading them at Port Chicago. The vast difference in their experiences, while ostensibly fighting for the same cause, makes for a remarkable contrast.

Backed up by 100 pages of notes arranged chapter by chapter; along with an extensive 20 page bibliography; the author has blown life into every page of this book. It will stand as a true and accurate account of not only the Port Chicago Incident, but also as a reminder of a time when fighting for freedom didn’t always guarantee freedom here at home. And, if the only thing new is the history you don’t know, then this book may also stand as a warning about repeating some of the mistakes of our past.


This Just In - Kings Highway and Hurricane Sandy

This is my old neighborhood in Brooklyn , New York yesterday, before the full force of Hurricane Sandy arrived. Through the magic of you tube I am able to go back and walk the streets, getting a bit of a feel for what is going on there. I'm hoping power stays on for everyone, but pulling especially hard for zip code 11229 where this video was shot. Located less than 1 mile from Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach, the area was on the lip of the mandatory evacuation zones. I hope everyone there is safe, dry and warm.