By 9:00 p.m. the cellhouse was completely dark, with only ambient lighting glowing though the exterior windows. Bergen was now positioned in the "L" section of the gun gallery, observing the attack of the administration forces. As the barrage of fire lessened, voices from the catwalk again pleaded with the inmates to surrender their weapons and release the hostages. Coy was now taking cover behind the cement wall next to the D-Block entrance, and he yelled more obscenities at the guards, then fired several rounds toward the window from which the voice had emerged. The attack would again rage on, as the cellhouse was sh.e.l.led with powerful artillery. Bergen and Mahan, who were now rejoined by Burch, fiercely opened fire on Coy, but they were unable to see him well enough to aim precisely. After nearly forty-five minutes of fierce battle, the rapid pulse of gunfire slowed to an irregular pattern, with only occasional deafening bursts aimed at briskly moving shadows. Coy retreated back into the utility corridor, where he climbed the labyrinth of piping, hoping to find a point on top of the cellhouse from which he would have a clear, un.o.bstructed shooting radius.
Tension was now also rising for the inmates in the recreation yard. Each time shots were fired into the cellhouse, the inmates would yell obscenities at the marines and guards along the wall. These slurs would generally be met with aimed rifles and machine guns, challenging the prisoners" unruliness. The sharp winds had also added to the inmates" misery, and the blankets seemed to offer little protection against the salty ocean mist. The guards in the East Gallery were aware that Coy and his accomplices were pinned down in the C Block Corridor. The inmates decided that they would need to position themselves more advantageously, and they decided to make a run for the dining hall, where they could stock up on food supplies, and perhaps attempt another attack on the yard wall guards. As they slowly opened the access door they were immediately met with intense fire, and were forced to retreat into the corridor. On the outside, Bergen, Burch, and Mahan spread out to see if they could detect any movement. There was virtually none, and all they heard was the loud whispering of the inmates amongst themselves. Bergen got back on the phone with Miller, and he conveyed his confidence that his team now controlled both galleries, and that they were in a good position to attempt the rescue.
Warden Clinton Duffy of San Quentin had shared a long and close friendship with Warden Johnston. Duffy"s father had also served as Warden of San Quentin, and he himself had actually been born inside the prison grounds. A mentor to both Johnston and Duffy was the former Warden of "Q," James B. Holohan. Holohan and Johnston had been among the driving forces behind recent progress in the area of inmate reform and education. Duffy and Holohan interfaced extensively with Johnston, and both men continued many of the programs that were introduced by Johnston during his days at San Quentin. When word came of the current debacle, Duffy committed a large group of his full-time correctional staff to help support their peers on Alcatraz, including the San Quentin physician, Dr. Leo Stanley. A Coast Guard cutter made a special trip across the Bay, bringing the San Quentin guards straight over to the island. Captain Bernard McDonald of the San Francisco Police Department also brought over several heavily armed officers, who were all prepared to engage in battle with the inmates.
At approximately 10:30 p.m. Johnston finally agreed to put together a large armed a.s.sault team that could enter the main cellhouse and carry out the rescue. The a.s.sociate Warden and Lieutenant Isaac Faulk a.s.sembled their group of ten additional men, and planned their entry. The rescue would be aggressive, and they were prepared to do battle with the inmates should they attempt to ambush the team. The inmates affectionately referred to the special troops that carried out this type of task as "The Goon Squad." By 11:05 p.m. the a.s.sault team had lined up outside the main entrance, awaiting the signal to enter. Miller slowly opened the main steel door, and carefully a.s.sessed the main floor of the prison. With no suspicious movement visible, the team advanced inward and started an articulate search, with their flashlights glaring into the squinting eyes of timid inmates as the officers closely examined each cell they pa.s.sed along the flats. As they slowly progressed towards Seedy Street with their weapons poised and ready to fire, they heard whispers from one of the captive officers in one of the end cells on the C-D aisle. Officer Mowery was able to advance forward and locate the hostages. He also managed to open the cells and begin preparing the men for evacuation.
But as the officers moved toward the cells, they were suddenly fired upon by Coy, who was perched on top of C Block. Officer McKean and Lieutenant Faulk were able to secure and lock the door to D Block as well as the C Block utility corridor access door, and then they took cover. Coy fired off several shots, thus giving away his position. Officer Fred Roberts took a bullet in the arm, and plummeted to the floor. The team then retreated under one of the walkway balconies below a cell row, and pulled Roberts under for cover. The officers had seen the muzzle flashes, and they emerged from their hiding place with a rapid barrage of gunfire aimed at the top of C Block, forcing Coy to retreat. Then without delay, the officers started pulling the injured men from the cells.
Sundstrom, Burdette, and Bristow were found unharmed, and Lageson had only minor wounds; all were able to walk on their own. Weinhold, Simpson, Corwin and Miller were all in extremely critical condition, and had to be carried out to safety by the other officers. The freed hostages were brought in through the sallyport and laid on the floor outside of the Warden"s office. Alcatraz physicians Roucek and Bowden, a.s.sisted by Dr. Jones of the Public Health Department, all started feverously treating and bandaging the injured officers" wounds. At about midnight, the wounded officers were taken aboard the prison launch and quickly ferried to the Van Ness Pier. When the launch pulled up to the dock, there were abundant crowds of onlookers and reporters watching attentively as the critically injured officers were loaded into waiting ambulances. As each ambulance departed, the wailing and fading sirens could be heard by everyone on the island.
Heroic Officer Bill Miller. Irving Levinson who had been a.s.signed to the Road Tower on the day of the escape, emphasized in a later interview that Miller"s unselfish act that ultimately cost him his life, kept the inmates from gaining access to the families. Levinson stated that the "final outcome" should the inmates have made into the family living areas would have been "catastrophic" based on their desperate disposition.
Officer Bill Miller is shown being transferred to the Marine Hospital just hours before he succ.u.mbed to a fatal gunshot wound.
Officer Cecil Corwin was critically injured by a gunshot wound to the head. Luckily, Corwin would survive his injuries.
One of the injured officers is seen being wheeled into the Emergency Room following the historic rescue.
With the hostages rescued and large numbers of reinforcements swarming the island, the officers would now aggressively attempt to flush out the armed convicts. Warden Johnston and his staff sat with Officers Lageson, Sundstrom, Burdette, and Bristow, and exhaustively interviewed the men, attempting to extract every minute detail of how the escape had transpired. They were able to ascertain conclusively that Coy, Cretzer, Hubbard, Thompson, Shockley, and Carnes were the active armed conspirators. Other convicts were also named, mostly by individual officers, but their level of partic.i.p.ation could not be precisely determined. It seemed possible that they might not even have been involved, and might have been present purely by coincidence. Johnston was also unable to pinpoint the conspirators" exact location in the cellhouse. The group discussed the various possible origins of the gunfire, but the evidence was not conclusive, since the guards had heard gunshots from a variety of locations. Ed Miller was confident that Roberts had been shot with a rifle from on top of C Block, because he had seen the muzzle flashes as they were fired upon during the rescue.
Lieutenant Bergen had watched Miller"s team during the rescue and had helped to return Coy"s fire. He had already moved more men up to the top of the West Galley, and had situated them so they would have a sound vantage point from which to suppress gunfire. Officers...o...b..ien and Green used heavy sledgehammers to knock out the bullet-proof panes from the Visitors" Gallery, and prepared to take aim on any of the armed convicts who might appear. Three other armed officers named Mowery, Jones, and Runnels entered the cellhouse and climbed to the top of B Block. They carefully watched for any movement on top of C Block, and fired whenever they saw a moving shadow. Bergen had left the gallery phone off the hook to maintain an open line, and he continued to convey updates on activities to the Armory. When the Armory officer needed to speak to Bergen, he would blow a whistle into the receiver, which would generate just enough sound to capture his attention. Warden Johnston had contacted Bergen personally as soon as he had confirmed the ident.i.ties of the conspirators. He had asked Bergen and his men to maintain a careful lookout for these convicts.
By 2:10 a.m. Simpson and Weinhold were in surgery having the fragmented Colt slugs removed from their bodies. Miller and Corwin were scheduled next, and they initially appeared to be doing well. Miller had provided a sworn statement to FBI agents, positively identifying Joseph Cretzer as the gunman who had shot them one by one in cold blood. Reporters flooded the hospital waiting rooms, attempting to grab photos and any statements that they could get from the doctors and from the ambulance attendants who had transported the men. The city morgue had also sprung to life, with journalists lining the entryway, hoping to glean information on how St.i.tes had met his fate. One of the morgue attendants who had transported St.i.tes from the dock acknowledged that he had stayed to watch St.i.tes"s uniform cut away, and had seen some of his wounds. However, he misinformed the hungry reporters, stating that it looked like St.i.tes had taken "several machine-gun bullets" in his back. Meanwhile the battle continued through the night, with the officers and marines launching attacks on both D and C Blocks. Lieutenant Faulk managed to secure the entrance door to D Block, and it was believed that one of the armed men was trapped there. The battle raged on as thousands lined the sh.o.r.es throughout the night, watching the tracers of artillery fire bludgeoning the cellhouse.
As the sun started to rise on San Francisco, Ed Miller a.s.sisted Warrant Officer Charlie Buckner to the roof, and started shooting gas grenades into the C-Block corridor through the ventilators. They continued to call to the inmates, urging a peaceful surrender, but there was never any reply. Charlie L. Buckner was a decorated World War II veteran, who had been stationed on Treasure Island after the war. He was a demolition expert, and had prevailed in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. The Alcatraz guards had been able to achieve virtually no precision with the gas grenades, because they would bounce off of objects and land far from their target. Buckner"s experience would be invaluable, because during the war he had become an expert at rigging devices designed to expel j.a.panese soldiers from the burrowed tunnels in which they concealed themselves during battles. He was a master at lowering the grenade into the tunnel on a thin string, armed with a detonation system that was extremely effective and precise.
Charlie L. Buckner lowered demolition grenades into the cellhouse from the roof using string. He strategically detonated the grenades inside the utility corridors, in an attempt to flush out the rioters.
Buckner told Warden Johnston that if he could obtain demolition grenades, he could lower these explosives into confined areas with great accuracy, and without risking the lives of his officers. Johnston quickly made arrangements to have the ammunition boated over from a military a.r.s.enal in Benecia. When the supplies arrived, the rescue team started drilling holes through the ceilings directly above the corridors. The holes were drilled large enough to allow fist-sized grenades to pa.s.s through the openings. In a systematic process, Buckner rigged a wire around the casing cap to hold the grenade, and then delicately lowered it through the opening. The string was generally measured to a specific length, and thus the explosive device was lowered to a precise height. Once the string was spooled out and the grenade had reached the desired position, Buckner would sharply jerk a second string that was affixed to the discharge mechanism, and this would expel the pin. He was later described by one of the correctional officers as having the skill of a "masterful puppeteer."
The cement scar patterns are still visible today where Buckner detonated the explosives.
Warden Johnston was also pleased to welcome two other visitors, General Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell and General Frank Merrill, who had come over to the island on an Army vessel. Johnston and the two Generals evaluated the situation in meticulous detail, and reviewed every officer"s post a.s.signment, as well as the strategy for regaining control of the cellhouse. The generals seemed impressed with the containment procedures already in place, and they reviewed some of the artillery configurations that they had recommended to help reestablish control. The light fragmentation explosives they had been using were replaced with anti-tank sh.e.l.ls, which were dropped through the drilled ceiling portals.
The guards and Marines also fired rifle grenades from the lawn on the side of the building that faced the Golden Gate Bridge. Army-style cots were set up in the administration building so the officers could remain close by while they rested. Many of the officers had been up for over twenty-four hours, including Burch, who had been tied up for nine hours following the brutal attack, and had then stayed up all night on watch in the gallery with Bergen. Bergen and the others had also begun to tire after having been up all night, but before turning in, both men met with the Warden and described in detail all of the events that they had witnessed from their perspective in the gun gallery. At 7:00 a.m., the Alcatraz staff received the dreadful news that Bill Miller had gone into cardiac arrest, and that the surgeons had been unable to resuscitate him. One of the doctors explained to Johnston over the phone that Miller had fallen into a deep state of shock as a result of severe blood loss and had subsequently died. Cecil Corwin was still deemed to be in critical condition, but he was expected to survive his injuries. Weinhold and Simpson had done well in surgery, and had been moved into the intensive care ward where they were now listed in critical but stable condition. They had both been placed in oxygen tents, and allowed to rest. The other guards were also in a stable condition, and were expected to recover fully from their injuries.
After interviewing Burch and Bergen, the Warden walked the short distance to his house and retired for a short nap. Sleep would be difficult however, as more marines were landing on the island, and the artillery attack had intensified. Dr. Roucek pulled out a small flask and provided Burch and Bergen with a shot of whisky to help sooth their nerves. By 11:00 a.m. the situation was still considered to be out of control, and heavier artillery was brought to the island, including anti-tank mortars and bazookas. The firing grew more and more intensive, and a staccato rhythm of bombing began against the exterior walls of D Block, launched from the gra.s.sy slopes below the south wall. Small brush fires started below the cellhouse, and a heavy blanket of dense pungent smoke could be seen from all points of San Francisco. Large groups of journalists keenly watched the events from boats that were idling in the waters only a few hundred yards away. Jack Eoisie was one of the reporters who had been a.s.signed to cover the escape attempt by the San Francisco Chronicle. He described the events in sharp detail on page four of the May 4th edition: Five stout men, protected by a ledge about 100 yards directly beneath and out from the "hot" cell block window are doing the job of keeping the convicts from reaching the window ledge-and a possible dash for freedom through the shattered bars. They are doing the job by firing, about every five minutes, four fragmentation grenades launched from either an Army rifle or carbine. During the hours we watched, no other weapon was used-no bazookas and nor mortars. Earlier in the day a few smoke grenades churned up outside the beleaguered cell. It is understood that of the five men who can be seen operating the grenade launcher with methodical precision, one is a Marine. He is Warrant Officer C.L. Beckner [sic], who commands the Marine detachment on the island.
They are preparing to fire now. The grenade is inserted carefully into the launcher device attached to the muzzle of the gun. There is a slight report as the grenade leaves the gun, but it is drowned out by the sharp concussion as the projectile strikes the wall. A flash of yellow flame lights up, and then curling black smoke. This one, then, missed the cell, but immediately another is fired, and all that can be heard is a smothered concussion. Black smoke drifts out the window. The one went in. Each grenade sprays the cell area with sharp metal for a radius of 50 feet, forcing the convicts inside to keep down on the floor or behind sheltering objects in corners. Two more grenades are fired and then, the stronghold relaxes. The men can be seen lighting cigarettes and stretching out on the beds of bright purple flowers.
Bergen returned to his post in the West Gallery after a short rest. As he drew near, the bombing increased, causing the men to take cover under the low sheath of thin metal plating across the front of the gallery. The grenades were deafening even to the officers, and the fury of the bombing was unrelenting. In a later memoir co-written by Bergen ent.i.tled Alcatraz "46, the officer recalled giving a wry look to Mahan and joking: "That"s one h.e.l.l of a breakfast they"re serving." Buckner continued his carefully calculated barrage of explosives, drilling along the corridor path and dropping the grenades into the cellblock. The men imprisoned in the isolation cells were trapped and unable to take cover behind any fixed objects, which would have offered some protection. As the shrapnel from the explosives grew more intense, the inmates began to scream and plead for someone to close the heavy steel cell doors.
Bergen would later recount one of the most intriguing events that occurred during the escape attempt. Robert Stroud, known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz," had remained in cell #41 on the topmost tier, until the bombardment grew so intense that he was forced out. Stroud soon noted that the majority of the bullets were actually striking closest in proximity to his cell. He finally fled down the tier, and took refuge in another cell. Bergen recalled that he could hear the sheer panic of the inmates confined in the cells along the flats, until finally Stroud emerged and walked to the end of the tier against the wall closest to his cell. Remarkably, he climbed over the railing and lowered himself onto the second tier rail, at great risk of being struck by gunfire or shrapnel. This was an amazing feat for a man of fifty-six years. He then balanced himself, crossed over the second rail, and dropped to the cellblock floor where he quickly closed each of the cell fronts. He then went to the cells beyond, and hoisted himself up, climbing tier by tier back to the top. Bergen and Mahan watched in complete amazement. Stroud, who had once been a savior of sick birds, had now attempted to help his fellow inmates when they were in danger"s way. Famed inmate Henri Young, later wrote a letter to a family about his time being held-up in his D-Block cell: May 15, 1946 Dear Bob & Naomi, This is the first time I have had an opportunity to write you since the awful escape attempt of May second. I am now cold. All of the windows were bombed and shot out, and all of the radiators were broken up by sh.e.l.ls. Workmen are laboring to get the place warm again. And I am writing this on a Life news magazine held on my knee.
When that terrible started I was writing a letter to Aunt Amelia. A while later I tore it up because if I didn"t come through all the shooting I didn"t want anyone else to read it. At first the shooting was light. Another fellow and I sat on the floor until he caught a deflected sh.e.l.l in his shoulder. He wasn"t hurt badly. We however grabbed some mattresses and built a barricade at the front of the cell door. Then we stacked all my books up behind that. Things got hotter. The noise of the gun firing was terrific. We crawled under my steel bunk and stayed there nearly all of the time. Those anti-aircraft and anti-tank bombs the Navy and Marines threw into isolation lifted my cell up and crashed into my eardrums with an awful din. I"d lay there and wait to feel the pain from a fragment or a sh.e.l.l. But I never even got touched.
The real close calls scared me. One came at the very first and one at the last. But after I got used to the firing I slept awhile over different periods. I raised up to take a look around the cell block during some of the heaviest firing. The place was truly beautiful. There was a steady stream of brilliant white and red flares casting their lights over everything. Tracer bullets were lancing through the smoke. Actually the worst of the whole thing physically was that pungent smoke from smoldering mattresses. I could hardly breath and my eyes ran a steady stream.
When I wasn"t sleeping or talking I was praying for all if us fellows, the officers I knew were in danger of getting killed, and that the officials and guards would have the courage to come in and capture those who had caused such horror. It was a sheer miracle that so few innocent inmates were slightly wounded. Even the guards couldn"t hardly believe their own eyes when they saw us all walking.
There was a big colored fellow among us who was through the Italian Campaigns during the recent war. He laughed aloud and said that even Italy was never so bad as what we went through.
Yours, with love, Henri Young 244-AZ At about 1:10 p.m., Bergen was still in the gallery when he was hailed by Stroud. Bob Stroud yelled across the smoke-filled cellblock to Bergen, who was pitched low for cover. Stroud pleaded with him to stop the bombing before someone was needlessly killed. He swore to Bergen that there were no guns in D Block and insisted that the bombardment was senseless. As he made his plea, he offered to strip his clothes off and stand in the middle of the cellblock floor, where he could be used as a hostage for barter. Bergen had always seen Stroud as a "homicidal maniac," but nevertheless, he believed that the prisoner was telling the truth. Bergen got this message to the Warden, and the shooting finally ceased. Bergen yelled to the inmates that the shooting would not resume, but warned them to stay in their cells and not to wander along tiers. Quillen would later recount during an interview, "Most respected Bergen; he treated inmates fair, but several of the men didn"t dare move from behind their barricades since they thought it was a trap. Bergen had yelled all night to surrender the rifle so a lot of the men didn"t move since they thought no one was going to believe what Stroud told them." Walter Bertrand, the Warden"s secretary, had been working non-stop, attempting to answer all of the phone calls and Teletype inquires that flooded the office. Amid the smoke in the aftermath of the battle, the United States flag was brought down to half-mast, and reports were now delivered to the mainland that various areas of the prison had been secured.
Amid the smoke in the aftermath of the battle, the United States flag was brought down to half-mast in honor of the officers who lost their lives during the siege.
Marine Major Albert a.r.s.enault is shown describing the events of the battle into a microphone.
Officer Joe Steere Then at 6:55 p.m. Officer Joe Steere was fired upon while pa.s.sing the C Block utility corridor and quickly took cover. The bombardment of gunfire started up again, and Buckner made his way back up to the roof with more small explosives. Ed Miller and an armed team of officers approached the access door and swung it open, and each fired several rounds into the darkness. There was no detectable movement, and no voices responded to Miller"s demands for surrender. It seemed evident that the inmates where now trapped within the corridor, so Miller rapidly closed the door and locked it. The correctional staff started implementing plans to move the inmates from the recreation yard back into the cellhouse, housing them all in A Block. Extra mattresses were moved into A Block so that inmates could be a.s.signed two per cell, and guard staff from San Quentin, Atlanta, McNeil Island, Folsom, and Leavenworth helped to ready the cells as quickly as possible. The prison"s locksmith, Earl Waller, was summoned to fix the jammed lock in the door to the recreation yard.
The inmates who had now been trapped in the recreation yard for more than twenty-four hours were ushered down to A and B Blocks. The East and West Gun Galleries were both heavily fortified with officers ready to fire at anything that posed a potential threat. Once all of the inmates had been secured, the guard staff started delivering boxed meals to those who had been locked up for over twenty-four hours. Buckner resumed dropping explosives with increasing accuracy into the dark pa.s.sage of the narrow utility corridor. Heavy utility lights were aimed at the top of the corridor of C Block from the Galleries, blinding any inmates who might be there. The corridor had become more difficult for the inmates to navigate and climb, as the barrage of explosives had severed most of the piping. Each time Buckner prepared to drop an explosive device, an officer would pa.s.s the muzzle of the Springfield .30-06 through the drilled cement hole and fire blindly into the corridor. The movements of the inmates in these final hours are unknown. Perhaps the last sight their eyes were to register before death was a small grenade slowly being lowered on a black spun string, or the muzzle flash of a rifle the split second before the concussion echoed into silence. As the sun began to rise on the east face of the prison, the shadowy silence was broken only by the occasional cries of airborne seagulls.
The C-Block utility corridor where inmates Coy, Hubbard, and Cretzer made their final stand. All three inmates where eventually found dead inside this area.
At 8:40 a.m., the a.s.sociate Warden and several other officers including Bergen and Mowery stood on ready to enter in the C Block utility corridor. Officer Mowery opened the door, shining his powerful searchlight and yelling a warning, but his call was met only with silence, and a harsh stench from the raw sewage still dripping from the severed piping. The guards entered into the dark and eerie silence, and slowly advanced through the flooded pa.s.sageway, shining their bright flashlights. The first inmate they came across was Coy, who lay nearest the door with his eyes open and glazed over. His body was stiffened with rigor mortis, and the rifle was at his side, loaded and ready to fire. He was wearing Weinhold"s jacket, and still had rounds of ammunition in his pocket. Cretzer was found next to Coy, also stiffened by hours of death, wearing a guard"s uniform and ammunition belt. Hubbard was found at the end of the corridor, still flexible and warm. The bodies were pulled out of the dark pa.s.sage and examined by Dr. Roucek. He carefully a.s.sessed the wounds on each, articulating every detail to his a.s.sistant Jesse Riser.
In Dr. Roucek"s official report to Warden Johnston, he dictated the following after examining Coy"s corpse: May 4, 1946 To: The Warden Subject: Report of Death of Bernard Paul Coy, No. AZ-415.
Examination of the body of this inmate revealed the following: Body was cold and rigor mortis had set in. Pupils were fixed. Left arm was extended in a 15-degree angle; right arm was flexed at the elbow at approximately a 45-degree angle. He was wearing an Officers uniform coat marked Captain and underwear marked No. 415 with blue trousers marked No. 415.
Further examination revealed a small laceration of cheek over left maxilla and a large penetrating wound through left border of Sternal Mastoid muscle and apparently through upper border of Trapezius. Laceration of scalp approximately 2 cm to left and down from natural whorl of hair. There were no apparent wounds on the posterior side of body. There was bleeding from the nose. In the examination all clothing was cut from his body. This inmate was p.r.o.nounced dead at 10:12 A.M. this date.
Examination was witnessed by the following Officers: Medical Technical a.s.sistant, Jesse A. Riser, USPHS Lieutenant P.R. Bergen, Custodial Force Senior Officer, John Delling, Custodial Force Jr. Officer, D.H. Mowery, Custodial Force Signed, Louis G. Roucek, Surgeon Chief Medical Officer Bureau Director James V. Bennett arrived at the prison from Washington D.C. just in time to see the three deceased inmates sprawled on the cold cement prison floor. The bodies were covered, and had been prepared for transport back to the mainland. Ed Miller now switched his focus to the living ringleaders. A team of guards converged on the cells of Thompson, Carnes, and Shockley, and the inmates were marched one by one into separate isolation cells in A Block. The Alcatraz staff then a.s.sessed the aftermath of the battle. The wind whistled through the mortar holes in D Block. Correctional staff from the other prisons a.s.sisted in searching the cell of each inmate, and then placing them into lockdown. Jim Quillen would later write in his personal memoir, Alcatraz from the Inside: The entire flat was covered with armed, nervous and tired guards. Each guard had been a.s.signed an inmate to cover as he stepped from his cell. The guard a.s.signed to cover me was a stranger, possibly from another inst.i.tution. He was armed with a shotgun and was so nervous that I could see the gun trembling in his hands.
As the bodies of the three convicts were placed on the bow of the Warden Johnston, the press stood shoulder to shoulder at the gate of Van Ness Street Pier, snapping hundreds of photos as the boat approached. The bodies of the dead convicts were lifted and carried to the waiting ambulances. FBI officials then flocked to the island, and began an intensive investigation. A press conference was quickly held by U.S. Attorney Frank Hennessy in the San Francisco Federal Building, and he explained that the three survivors of the break would be charged with the murder of the two slain officers, as well as conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to escape. Later that evening Johnston and Bennett would hold the first ever press conference on Alcatraz, and would walk reporters through the prison explaining how the escape took place. Johnston escorted the all-male group of reporters and photographers through the prison as inmates chanted and shouted at them. He walked the group of visitors to the foot of the gun gallery and then over to the cells where Cretzer had fired upon the helpless guards, and where the blood stains were still fresh on the walls. The inmates yelled slurs, and several of the reporters wrote them into their features. In one case an inmate yelled "Oh Salt.w.a.ter Johnston, tell them how you starve us in the dungeons."
Bureau Director James V. Bennett arrived from Washington just in time to witness the three deceased inmates being pulled from the utility corridor.
The Warden Johnston pulling up to the Van Ness Street Pier, with the bodies of the three dead inmates clearly visible on the deck.
The lifeless bodies of the inmates were loaded into waiting ambulances at the pier.
Warden James Johnston and Bureau Director James Bennett examine the tools utilized by Bernard Coy to gain access to the Gun Gallery.
During the first press conference ever held inside Alcatraz, Warden Johnston shows members of the press where Coy made his entry into the Gallery.
Warden Johnston standing in front of cell #403, where Cretzer shot the helpless correctional officers in cold blood.
The Aftermath
On May 5, 1946 at 7:40 a.m., Medical Examiner Dr. Gus T. Kerhulas began his autopsy examinations of the three inmates, to determine their exact cause of death. He removedseveral bullet fragments from Coy"s brain, and ruled that his death had been instantaneous at the moment of projectile entry. Cretzer"s autopsy followed at 8:30 a.m. The doctor carefully examined his injuries, and described Cretzer"s post mortem condition in his autopsy report: Coy"s lifeless body inside San Francisco Coroner"s office. The results of extreme dieting to reduce his body frame were evident during his post mortem examination.
Crezter during his post mortem exam.
APPEARANCE: The body is that of a well-developed, well-nourished, adult, young white male revealing evidence of head injury. In the center of the scalp in the mid-cranial vault there is a laceration of linear type with crusted margins, apparently of twenty-four hours duration. There is no evidence of fracture at this point. The wound is gaping. There is a wound of entrance at the left temporal region with a smooth margin, measuring approximately 1cm., and a wound of exit at the right temporal region with ragged wound margins, measuring approximately 1.5 cm in diameter and revealing evidence of fragmentation of bone with evidence of compound fracture at this point. The right temporal, frontal, and parietal bone in this area is likewise apparently shattered as on palpitation it reveals crepitation and abnormal mobility of the cranium on this side. In addition, there are abrasions on the anterior upper chest, hands, and left knee. There are no other abnormalities. Rigor mortis and post-mortis lividity are present.
HEAD: On reflecting the scalp back in the region of these wounds, there are hematomas present and the bony cranial vault is fractured at the wound entrances and exits with fractures of the left temporal and the right temporal, frontal, and parietal bones. On opening the cranial vault, the brain is found to be severely lacerated and penetrated through and through from the left temporal lobe to the right temporal lobe running across the base and also destroying the brain stem. On removing the brain, the pituitary fossa and sphenoid body is also seen to be involved in this fracture. There is no evidence of metallic objects present in the cranial vault.
DIAGNOSIS: Gunshot wound with fracture of skull and laceration of brain.
Hubbard"s injuries were also found to have afforded him a quick death. It was confirmed that Hubbard had died hours after Coy and Cretzer, but it was somewhat puzzling that there were no firearms within his reach when he was found, and he was armed with only the butcher knife that he had carried with him from the kitchen. Investigators were bewildered to find that he appeared to have waited out his death. Like the others, Hubbard had taken two fatal bullet wounds to the head. Medical Examiner Kerhulas allowed reporters to view the deceased convicts and to photograph them. The sound of camera shutters flickering and blinding flashes of light saturated the room, which smelled of formaldehyde.
Medical Examiner Dr. Gus T. Kerhulas invited the press to photograph the deceased inmates, and openly discussed his autopsy findings.
The Coroner doc.u.mented in his report: External Appearance: The body is that of a well developed, well nourished adult young white male revealing evidence of gunshot wounds of the head with a wound of entrance in the left temporal region having smooth margins and measuring approximately 1 cm in diameter, and a wound of exit at the right temporal parietal region with evidence of extensive compound fracture of the right temporal, frontal and parietal region bones at this point. In addition there is a wound of entrance at the inner corner the left eye with exit in the right occipital region of the skull. There are abrasions of the right temporal posterior auricular region.
Officer William A. Miller was mourned in a small service at St. Brigid"s Catholic Church on the morning of Monday, May 6th. The service was attended mostly by the wives and children of his fellow officers. Miller"s widow Josephine would hold a larger family service when his body arrived in Pennsylvania. His body was prepared at the Halstead Funeral Parlor in San Francisco, and then following a small open casket service, his remains were placed in a hea.r.s.e and driven to the train depot for the final ride home. His wife and two young children accompanied him on the train.
Attorney General Thomas Clark (seen with his arm around St.i.tes" son) and Warden Johnston gave a brief testimonial for Harold St.i.tes during a ceremony held at Alcatraz.
Officer Harold St.i.tes" services were held on Tuesday, May 7th at the Maneely Chapel in San Francisco. The services were heavily attended by the press, and James Bennett and Warden Johnston both sat in the front pews, giving support to his widow Bessie and his four children. Following the ceremony, there was a large funeral procession led by the San Francisco Police to the Golden Gate National Cemetery, where a graveside service was held before St.i.tes" final burial. Chaplain Lieutenant Rodney Shaw presided, while the family sat in solemn silence on a bench placed next to his grave.
Bernie Coy"s body was released from the San Francisco Morgue after eleven days, as no family member had claimed his remains. He was buried in a plain pinewood coffin in an unmarked gravesite at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Daly City, just south of SanFrancisco. Officials had attempted to contact Coy"s ex-wife, but all their telegrams were returned undelivered. On May 16, 1946 Coy"s sister Anna Long wrote a short letter to Warden Johnston, asking him to send all of Bernie"s belongings back to her in Kentucky. Johnston replied that Coy had only $6.16 in his account, and a small cloth container filled with what appeared to be family photos. Anna"s letter simply stated, "I was told by his attorney that it was best not to bring him back here."
Marvin Hubbard"s body had been taken to the G.o.deau Funeral Home, as his wife had made arrangements for his remains to be transferred back to Oklahoma. Hubbard"s family came to San Francisco and quietly accompanied Marvin back home for a proper burial. Joseph Cretzer"s body was cremated, and his ashes were placed in a burial vault at the Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Daly City. There were only two people who attended his service, his attorney and his ex-wife Edna.
In the weeks that followed, a sensational trial ensued in which Carnes, Shockley, and Thompson faced charges for their roles in the escape and in the murder of Officer Miller. The trial commenced on November 20, 1946, with Judge Louis E. Goodman presiding. The inmates were transferred to and from the courthouse chained together and under heavy guard on each day of their trial. The inmates were not charged with St.i.tes" murder, since it was deemed probable that he had been struck by friendly fire. The court appointed defense attorneys William Sullivan and Archer Zamlock to represent Carnes and Shockley, and Ernest Spagnoli and Aaron Vinkler to defend Thompson. The four attorneys would argue that the men had been held under heavy duress, similar to the mitigating factors that had been presented during the Henri Young murder trial. Robert Stroud donated $200 to the inmates" defense, and several other inmates came to testify on their behalf. Quillen also testified, and argued that Shockley was not fit to stand trial due to his mental state, adding that he felt Sam was more of a victim than a conspirator. Quillen further contested the chronology of the events as they have been described here. He stated that Shockley never incited any disturbance prior to the break, and that he most likely had limited knowledge, if any, of the planned escape plot.
Inmates Miran Thompson, Sam Shockley, and Clarence Carnes being transferred to court under heavy guard. All three were arraigned on murder charges for the death of Officer Bill Miller.
An affidavit from Alcatraz Physician Louis Roucek, stating that Shockley was mentally competent for trial.
Sam Shockley during his trial for his role in the death of Officer Miller.
Prior to the trial, Dr. Roucek had conducted extensive evaluations of Shockley. In one interview performed on November 5, 1946 in the prison hospital, Shockley complained of hearing voices. This transcript was taken directly from Roucek"s handwritten notes: Roucek: Do you hear voices?
Shockley: Yes, I hear voices.
Roucek: What do they say?
Shockley: I"ve heard so many that it"d be a long story. On May 4th when the officers came into "D" Block with guns, three officers had guns pointed at me. One had his thumb on the trigger and the voice said, "Let it go off."
Roucek Note: When asked more questions the patient stated, "I"m not in a thinking mood this morning because the radio irritated me before coming up this morning."
Roucek: What type of words does the radio use?
Shockley: Evil words; murder and hung.
Roucek: Has there ever been any change since the break?
Shockley: Not so many evil words used and the minerals in the food has been cut down.
Roucek: Are any of the inmates insane?
Shockley: We are all insane at times.
Roucek: Are the voices men or women?
Shockley: Always men voices.
Roucek: What is your trouble?
Shockley: It"s the minerals in the food here that gives me pains all over my body, and the rays of light shot at me.
Roucek: Who puts them in the food?
Shockley: Put there by the prison hospital for treatment when we come into the inst.i.tution.
Roucek: What rays shoot at you?
Shockley: The rays from the lights in the cellblock have shot at me ever since I"ve been here. It is arranged automatically. In bed at night the lights flash... flash... flash.
Roucek: Where do you feel these rays?
Shockley: On my head. When I came up here today I felt them on my head. Sometimes I can feel them on my shoulders.
Roucek: Do you have any sickness?
Shockley: Yes... I have cancer in the lower part of my stomach.
Roucek: Do you eat all your meals?
Shockley: No, can"t eat breakfast. Milk is too cold and acid and doped up to make you crazy.
Roucek: Do you plan to eat dinner?
Shockley: Yes... I"ll eat dinner. The food around here is better since the break. The more you eat the more you want.
Roucek: What do the minerals do to you?
Shockley: They give me marks on my body all over.
Roucek Note: Showed doctor a reddish area in his groin area which he claims to scratch.
The trial continued for over a month, and people across the nation followed its progress in the newspapers. Despite the efforts of several inmates who provided favorable testimony, Shockley, Carnes, and Thompson were convicted of the first-degree murder of William A. Miller on December 21, 1946. On the same day, Shockley and Thompson were given the death penalty for their role in the crime, and sentenced to die in the gas chamber at San Quentin on September 24, 1948. Carnes was spared the death penalty, and was instead given an additional life sentence due to mitigating factors, as he had shown leniency toward the officers held hostage, which ultimately saved their lives. Shockley and Thompson were transferred from Alcatraz to San Quentin State Penitentiary across the Bay.
A court order for Shockley"s death sentence.
The prisoners" time on San Quentin"s "Condemned Row" was not spent idly. In October of 1947, Thompson and another inmate were discovered to be making a contraband key, as part of what was thought to be a plot to escape. San Quentin Warden Clinton Duffy had warned Warden Johnston that Shockley and Thompson were apparently plotting a "spectacular dash out of the Condemned Row." Thompson wrote several letters to Duffy claiming that officers were trying to exploit him. In one specific letter he wrote that pictures from his cell had been confiscated following the May "46 events, and had been published in a detective magazine. He wrote frequently to his brother Horace in Alabama, and in nearly all of his letters he commented that he was the victim of a "frame-up." The two inmates were afforded minimal interaction with each other while on Condemned Row. Most of their time together would transpire during the appeals of their death sentences.