Heroes and Survivors

From the Preface of Allan's Book I have tried to tell the story through the memories of some of the children who were there that fateful day. I have collected memories from a number of people who were either in school at Danforth Elementary School that morning or who were otherwise affected by the explosion and resulting chaos. I have asked them to give me their stories as they remember where they were and what they were doing that morning, and to tell it as if it were happening now. Obviously, some memories fade, but what I have discovered is that the memories of that morning for most of us are as clear as if they happened this morning. I have incorporated their stories just as they gave them to me. While I do not have all the stories, the stories I do have are representative of the stories of the children who were in school that morning. Having lived through the Texas City Disaster, I know that us children who were in school that day, or at home (the schools operated in split shifts due to overcrowding), came away from that experience very different people than when we awoke that morning. We all experienced something that few people have ever experienced outside of wartime. Many of us saw death up close and personal. Many of us saw members of our families severely injured and severely maimed. Many of us knew children who lost one or both of their parents that day. But no matter what happened to us individually that day, no matter what the external or internal scars may be, we all came away with something few at the time gave any thought to—we had a common bond that brought us together like no other event.