|
|
|
-
 |
|
| |
|
11 Feared Dead at Lakewood
North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas
(X marks the spot where the boats went down.)
March 17, 1944
11 Feared Dead When Soldiers Fall Into Lake
Training Accident Occurs at Lakewood
Nine enlisted men were drowned and two others were missing after two
assault boat pontoons capsized in Lake No. 2 at Lakewood at 5 p.m.
yesterday. The victims were members of the Third Battalion, 264th
Infantry Regiment, 66th (Panther) Division.
Nine bodies had been recovered at dusk and search for the other two
continued.
LIST OF SOLDIERS
DEAD AND MISSING
Victims whose bodies were recovered last night were announced as
follows:
Pfc. Ralph R. Juarez Hutchinson, Kan.
Pfc. Charles Barrow Clough, Jr., Paterson, N.J.
Pfc. Marvin Blumberg, Bronx, N.Y.
Pvt. Leonard G. Greig, Chicago
Pfc. Edward H. DeGrasse, North Scituate, Mass.
Pfc. Carl R. Schnarr, Robertson, Mo.
Pfc. Norman H. Randall, Marshfield, Mass.
Pfc. Arpad S. Szabo, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Pvt. Robert E. Swellie, West Springfield, Mass.
The first eight were members of Company M. Private Swellie was a member
of the Medical Detachment, 264th Infantry.
Names of the two missing men were not made public. The nine bodies were
removed to Ruebel & Company parlors.
The tragedy came at the close of a successful day of river crossing and
assault boat training. Two boats loaded with soldiers in combat
equipment were lashed, one behind the other, to cross the lake for
supper, which was to be served on the grounds. When the boats still were
about 50 yards from the east shore, they capsized, throwing the soldiers
into the cold water. Many swam to shore.
How many soldiers were involved was not learned. Soldiers in other boats
rowed to the spot and succeeded in saving the lives of some who were
unable to swim to ashore.
The unit was the last of the 86th Division to complete training here, it
was said. The river crossing was a scheduled "combat training activity"
and had been practiced several times.
A board of officers to investigate began an immediate inquiry. The scene
is about five miles east of the camp. The lake is one of the many
created when Park Hill, a suburban area was developed.
Many Lungmotors Rushed to Scene in Ambulances
The tragedy occurred in No. 2 lake, the largest in the chain of seven
artificial bodies of water in Lakewood. The lake is roughly in the shape
of a U and the scene of the tragedy was in the lower part of the bend.
The first call for help was received by Watchman T.D. Johnson of the
Little Rock Fire Department at 6:12 p.m. He telephoned to undertakers
and dispatched lungmotors to the scene after obtaining co-operation of
the police in clearing traffic for the ambulances at busy intersections.
In a short time a half-dozen of the boats manned by soldiers converged
over the place where the men drowned. Some rescuers used draglines.
Several stripped to their underwear and dived into the cold water.
A soldier donned a deep-sea diver's outfit and was lowered into the
lake, but had to be rescued when the suit leaked.
Army doctors and volunteers prepared pallets of blankets on the ground
and as each victim was brought ashore, he was place on a pallet and
subjected to artificial respiration treatment. Soldiers worked in
relays. These efforts were continued until army doctors decided it was
useless. Bodies were placed in ambulances and returned to camp. One
victim was placed on the floor of an ambulance and artificial
respiration was administered there.
Across the road that skirts the lake and up an incline, half a dozen
brush fires were blazing. More than 100 soldiers huddled around these
fires in an effort to dry their clothes. Whether all had falling into
the lake could not be learned.
Manual Respiration Method Utilized by Those in Charge
Ambulance crews for the most part stood by their vehicles, looking on.
It seemed those in charge decided to use manual artificial respiration
rather than the lung motors. Someone called the Little Rock Fire
Department and asked for its lungmotor. Capt. Ralph Scantlin hurried to
the scene with the instrument, unpacked it and assisted in working over
one victim with his hands.
Sheriff Gus Caple and most of his deputies and Lieutenant Lindsey of the
State Police and a squad of his officers were on the scene ready to
assist. George Higgins, head jailer at the county jail, an expert diver,
offered his services to the military. Mr. Higgins does not use a diving
suit or bell.
Shoes and clothing removed from the victims were strewn over the ground
as were carbines, machine guns and other equipment. No effort was made
to keep civilians from the area, although the crowd was restricted from
the immediate area where rescue work was being carried on. Sightseers
dotted the shores of the lake, many of them on the other side.
--------------
Mass Drowning of Soldiers Probed
Recovery of two additional bodies from Lake No. 2 at Lakewood yesterday
increased to 11 the number of soldiers who drowned in a training
maneuver Thursday. A Board of Inquiry appointed to determine the cause
of the tragedy had not completed its investigation last night.
The soldiers, all members of the Third Battalion, 264th Infantry
Regiment of the 66th (Panther) Division at Camp Robinson, lost their
lives as two assault boats capsized as they were making their final
river crossing practice of the day. Many others in the boats swam ashore
while still others were rescued by soldiers in other boats.
The victims were:
T-Cpl. Joseph F. Smith, Patterson, N.J.
Pfc. Emmerson D. Washburn, Corinth, N.Yl
Pfc. Ralph R. Juarez Hutchinson, Kan.
Pfc. Charles Barrow Clough, Jr., Paterson, N.J.
Pfc. Marvin Blumberg, Bronx, N.Y.
Pvt. Leonard G. Greig, Chicago
Pfc. Edward H. DeGrasse, North Scituate, Mass.
Pfc. Carl R. Schnarr, Robertson, Mo.
Pfc. Norman H. Randall, Marshfield, Mass.
Pfc. Arpad S. Szabo, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Pvt. Robert E. Swellie, West Springfield, Mass.
All the bodies are at the Ruebel & Co. parlors.
Cause of the Tragic Accident Not Yet Determined
The cause of this tragedy has not been determined. The two boats, loaded
with soldiers, were crossing the lake at the end of the day's training.
The craft were fastened together and one, propelled by an out-board
motor, was pushing the other. When still about 50 yards from shore, the
boats capsized. One report, although not yet confirmed, was that the
soldiers were in a playful mood and were jostling each other.
* Arkansas Gazette, Arkansas Democrat, Unknown
Paper
|
|
|