As Coy carefully studied the individual routines of the guard staff, he also began to select his co-conspirators. He understood that in order for the escape to be successful, his plan would require exquisite orchestration, as well as the total commitment and cooperation of his accomplices. It is clear that his choice would fall on individuals who were capable of following a prescribed plan, and doing whatever became necessary to carry it out, even if this meant murder.
During Coy’s rounds of delivering books and magazines to inmates, he routinely stopped at cell #152 to visit Joseph Paul Cretzer, also known to many of the inmates as “Dutch.” Cretzer was an ideal choice as an accomplice and he had already proven his capabilities during an aborted escape attempt in May of 1941. That attempt had involved taking guards hostage, which was also an element of Coy’s plan. Although the previous attempt had failed, inmate Clarence Carnes stated afterward that Cretzer had kept calm when it became clear that the plan was doomed and this had won him a solid reputation with the other convicts. It is likely that Coy took this into consideration in deciding that Cretzer would make a perfect accomplice.
Carnes later commented that Coy had consistently reminded his accomplices of the virtue of patience and thorough planning. Coy had prepared himself for the day of the escape both physically and mentally, continually refining the procedures and chronology of the plan. He lost over twenty pounds by adhering to a strict diet regimen over a period of several months and improved his muscle tone and physical strength by performing exercises in his cell. He also arranged for pre-placement of the crudely fabricated tools that would be needed to spread the bars in the West End Gun Gallery. It is believed that inmate and cellhouse plumber Ed Mrozik smuggled pliers to Coy, and also assembled the makeshift bar spreader with the help of a fellow inmate in the Machine Shop.
Cellhouse Plumber Ed Mrozik.
The inmates of Alcatraz had developed a complex system for smuggling items past the elaborate security mechanisms within the prison. Inmates who risked smuggling contraband for others generally were given special payoffs or rewards. Despite the watchfulness of the correctional officers, inmates often successfully used covert networks to pass and smuggle items to one another. For example, if an inmate working in the machine shop wanted to “mail” a contraband item, he could wrap it in a soiled rag and send off to the laundry, making sure that the laundry bag carried a special secret marking. The contraband could then be folded in with clean kitchen linens and delivered to an appropriate recipient in the kitchen. Since problems such as clogged drains were common occurrences in the kitchen, the inmate plumber could intercept the smuggled item, which could be disguised as a common plumbing tool or fixture, and he could introduce it into his tool kit, thus ensuring final delivery. The security focus was generally on the inmates themselves, so these covert activities went largely unnoticed.
It is likely that Coy and Hubbard extended special food and reading privileges to inmates who helped smuggle materials for the escape. It is also possible that Coy granted favors to some correctional officers, who would eventually contribute to the success of the plan. Coy had earned a great deal of trust amongst the custodial staff through his frequent interactions with the guards. He was thus allowed to make his rounds within the cellhouse with minimal supervision. Several books written on the escape have further speculated that Coy actually helped to determine the officers’ routines, by distributing popular reading materials at specific time intervals to the guards posted in the gun galleries.
The Scene of the Battle
Correctional Officer Bert Burch was assigned to the West End Gun Gallery for the afternoon watch on the day of the escape attempt, May 2, 1946, and it is clear that Coy had been able to study his work habits in advance. It was at first believed that during his preparations for the escape, Coy had observed that Burch usually spent the after-lunch hours in the D Block end of the gallery, where he would read for most of the afternoon. But a second theory, extracted from notes handwritten by Carl Sundstrom a few days after the escape attempt, held that Burch did not always maintain a strict routine. Instead it is suggested that he would be lured into that section of the cellblock for an extended period of time by the acting-out of an inmate in D Block.
Correctional Officer Bert Burch.
Access to the West End Gallery was from an exterior catwalk located on the southwest end of D Block, with entry and exit monitored by the Road Tower officer. Changing shifts in inclement weather was no easy task, since the correctional officer would have to climb the metal staircase on the side of the cellhouse, battling the rain and wind that was intensified by the oceanfront exposure. It was, however, one of the most secure areas of the cellhouse, and several officers considered it a good assignment. Officers who worked in the gallery brought their own meals, since they would be locked inside for their entire shift, which usually lasted eight hours.
A view inside the West End Gun Gallery. An officer is seen here lowering a key to a fellow officer. Gallery post assignments were considered the most favored by the prison officers. Up until the events of 1946, it was also considered the safest.
The gallery was a dual-level, narrowly enclosed area with a passage width of only about four and a half feet. The west end of the gallery was situated over the area known to inmates as Times Square,and ran from each end of the cellhouse through the southwest end of D Block. This arrangement allowed the officer on duty to patrol all three main cellblock aisles (and to pass through a door into D Block), simply by walking the length of the gallery, which generally provided an excellent and protected view of all cellhouse activity. Most importantly, the officers assigned to the East and West Galleries each carried a .30-06 Springfield rifle and a semi-automatic Colt .45 handgun. Should any of the unarmed officers walking the cellhouse floor find themselves in a compromising situation, the gallery officer could regain control with this powerful and accurate weaponry. This impression was projected to the inmates on a daily basis, as the heavily armed gallery officers paced the length of the shielded passage.
Directly across from the Mess Hall at the opposite end of the cellhouse, and located off the main entrance corridor, was the prison Armory. The Armory was considered the most secure part of the prison, and it was the center of communications as well. Situated across from the control room, it had a secure switchboard, and also contained the prison’s weapons reserves. The Armory could only be unlocked from the inside, and it was considered almost impossible to infiltrate. Encased in steel and bulletproof glass, the Armory was the operational nucleus of Alcatraz, and the vital hub for island activities and correctional officers’ posting status. It housed the prison’s arsenal, and its control center monitored the movements of anyone leaving or entering the cellblock. The Armory switchboard linked the telephones throughout the entire prison network for internal communications. There was also a special marine radio for prison launch communications, in addition to a short-wave transceiver, standard telephones, and a Teletype machine that could be used to wire messages to the mainland. In the event of a large-scale riot or takeover of the cellhouse, the integrity of the Armory could always be maintained.
An exterior view of the prison Armory as it appeared in 1946.
The Armory served as the weapons arsenal for the prison, and it was also the stronghold for all of the prison keys, as well as the communications center. The Armory Officer had the ability to lock himself inside the weapons vault, to which there was no possible outside access. The Armory was the impenetrable nerve center of Alcatraz.
The scene was set and the plans were finalized, and all that remained was for the signals to be given. The conspirators believed that they had thought of everything and had prepared for every eventuality – but through a sequence of unforeseen circumstances, their careful plans were destined to go terribly wrong.
The Battle of Alcatraz
The explosive sequence of events that would eventually come to be known as the Battle of Alcatraz began early on the morning of May
2, 1946, and would gradually build in a tragic crescendo over the next two days. During this period, numerous prisoners and guards we be wounded or lose their lives, and the reputation of the island prison would change forever. For the first time, inmates would secure weapons from the prison armory, and turn them against their guards with deadly force. When the smoke had settled and the dust had cleared, a new legend would have arisen from the rocky soil of Alcatraz.
On the morning of May 2, 1946, Marvin Hubbard was tending to his duties in the prison kitchen, which was his official work assignment. Although Arnold Kyle did not play an active role during the escape attempt, it is speculated that he was responsible for involving Hubbard in the plan, as he had been on the same work detail before being reassigned to a paid position in the laundry. At 6:30 a.m. Lieutenant Joe Simpson rang the first bell; waking the prisoners and allowing them time to enjoy a cigarette, make their beds, and prepare for their work assignments. The inmates assigned to the kitchen detail were always released from their cells a few hours earlier to prepare the food carts. At 6:50 a.m., Simpson sounded the second bell and the cell doors racked open with the powerful resonance of heavy steel. The inmates began to line up outside their respective cells, in preparation for their customary count and organized march to the Mess Hall.
At 7:00 a.m., Simpson rang the bell a third time. The inmates from the lower tiers of B and C Blocks then started to march into the Mess Hall, followed in an orderly fashion by the prisoners from the second and third tiers. The steam tables were placed buffet style to accommodate the flow of inmates in two parallel lines. The inmates from C Block would walk in order to the steam tables on the left, and those from B Block would file in on the right. After obtaining their food tray and meal, the prisoners would sit on their respective sides of the Mess Hall, reflecting the cellhouse arrangement. The process was refined for efficiency and allowed for no variances, since the breakfast period would last only twenty minutes.
The steam tables were manned by Hubbard and fellow inmates Floyd Harrell, Lavelle Bush, and Harold Brest. Brest had participated in a failed escape at Alcatraz in April of 1943, in which his accomplice James Boarman had been killed by a bullet to the head. In May of 1946, Brest had been out of segregation and on work assignment for less than one month and probably had no interest in getting involved in another escape, with the memory of Boarman's violent death still fresh in his mind.
As the inmates were assembling for breakfast on the morning of May 2nd, the next shift of correctional officers started to come on duty, relieving those coming off the graveyard shift. Officer Bert Burch made his way up the narrow stairway running up the side of the cellhouse, to begin his shift in the West Gun Gallery.
Cliff Fish was the day watch officer assigned to the Armory in May of 1946. As the officers reported to their assigned locations, they would individually call in to Fish so that he could record the post changes in the official activity register. As part of standard procedure, the officers were required to call in to the armory every thirty minutes to report on their welfare. The status of each inmate was likewise recorded every thirty minutes. As the inmates congregated in the Mess Hall for breakfast, the correctional staff reported and prepared their posts for the transfer of inmates to the work industries.
Armory Officer Clifford Fish
Following breakfast the inmates were marched back to their cells, and those with work assignments were allowed time to smoke and get ready for work. After all of the inmates had been locked back in their cells, Joe Simpson sounded the bell signaling inmates to stand in silence at their cell door until the count activities were concluded. Ernest Lageson, who was the officer in charge of the cellhouse, sat at the desk situated just outside of the Mess Hall at the west end of the cellblock. He compiled the numbers from the six officers performing the counts, and phoned the final tallies to Fish in the Armory.
After the counts were complete, the inmates who were assigned to work details usually changed into their work clothing, and ensured that their cells were clean in case of a surprise inspection. Being assigned to a work detail was a great privilege, and inmates rarely disobeyed rules regarding cleanliness and hygiene. After the count bell sounded indicating that no discrepancies had been found, the officers in charge of the industry work details gathered near the recreation yard, preparing to release the inmates from their cells to start work.
Joe Simpson would then give the signal to release those on work details from their cells. The cells were unlocked, just as at meal periods, with all of the cells on each tier racking open to allow the men to step outside of their cells. They would then await the okay signal to march down into the recreation yard and line up for their work assignment. Bert Burch in the West Gun Gallery lowered key #107 to Officer William Miller, who opened the heavy steel access door to the recreation yard and then started signaling the inmates to file down into the line-up. As the convicts passed through the cellhouse door, Miller counted each one. The inmates then walked into the yard area, lining up on a painted stripe in accordance with their specific assignment. Once again they would participate in yet another count, for purposes of identification, and to ensure that they reported to the proper work detail.
Correctional Officer Ernest Lageson.
Officer Al Shield.
Chief Steward Bob Bristow.
The inmates inside the cellhouse likewise were subjected to an additional count, and once it was complete, Captain Miller signaled Officer John Barker, who was posted on the recreation yard perimeter catwalk (considered the least favored assignment by the correctional staff). He then lowered the key to Officer Al Shield, who would open the yard door leading to the Industries. When the signal was given, the inmates would march line-by-line down the narrow steep stairwell and pass through the “snitch box,” a name affectionately given to the metal detector by the inmates. When each inmate had arrived at his assignment, before they were all allowed to start work, the officers performed a final count. Once this process was complete, the numbers were called in to the Armory, where Cliff Fish tallied the latest figures. Then the yard was again secured, and the key was passed back up to Barker on the catwalk.
After the inmates assigned to the Industries were situated and the recreation door was secured, those who were assigned to “inside details” were released from their cells. Then when all of the count data had been submitted to Fish in the Armory, Ernest Lageson started assembling and issuing equipment to the twelve men assigned as cellhouse orderlies. He also assisted Bernie Coy, who was assigned to the library detail and briefly supervised the orderlies’ activities as they began reviewing the request and distribution lists. Cretzer was forced to remain in his cell, since he still had not been assigned to a work detail, while the other inside-detail inmates lined up, waiting to start work.
The breakfast detail was supervised by Chief Steward Bob Bristow and Steward Charles Scanland, assisted by Officer Larry O’Brien. There were twenty-three inmates assigned to the Culinary Department, and their work schedules were among the most demanding in the prison, though these assignments were also the most highly coveted by the inmates. The culinary workers often labored seven days a week, and their cells were located close together at the west end of the cellhouse. They generally worked long hours, starting their day around 5:45 a.m., and ending sometime after 6:00 p.m. The culinary employees were not paid, unlike those working in the industries. However, there were many benefits that made this assignment worthwhile. The workers could sample fresh foods, and could even make special dishes, provided they managed to squelch the suspicions of the correctional officers. It was also said that many of the culinary inmates were able to concoct their own “special brews.” For convicts serving long sentences and life terms, there was little use for the money that they could earn in the industries. Additionally, all of the inmates assigned to the “inside work details” were often allotted special daily recreation yard privileges, away from the normal inmate population. If their work in the cellhouse
was completed satisfactorily, they were allowed a short respite in the yard every afternoon.
By 11:10 a.m. most of the inside detail activities were complete, and the inmates would then returned to their cells for a count and to prepare for lunch. On this particular day, Henry Langston was the only inmate assigned to the yard for clean up and maintenance duty. Convicts assigned to this detail were nicknamed “yard birds.” Langston too was eventually called into the cellhouse, since inmates would soon be lining up in the yard in preparation to return to the Mess Hall. At 11:30 a.m. the powerhouse steam whistle blew, signaling the inmates to complete their tasks and prepare for the march back up into the main block. If the winds were blowing to the east, the industries whistle could often be heard at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. As an inmate recalled in an interview years later, several of the prisoners referred to their walk down the steep narrow path from the Recreation Yard as the “The Lonely Walk Down.” It was the only time when the inmates could see the city of San Francisco with minimal obstruction from fences and barbwire.
When Captain Weinhold gave the okay, the inmates began their controlled march through the metal detector, up the steep and narrow stairwell and into the yard for another count. All the while, they were watched intensely by the watchtower guards, who were ready to aim and fire their rifles should this become necessary. As the inmates lined up in their rows, Officer Shield completed his counts. Once the counts from all of the industry assignments were tallied and verified, the inmates were quietly marched back through the second metal detector and in to their cells. Once again as they carried out their tasks according to the strict protocol, Officer Miller hooked Key #107 to the lanyard clip, and Burch hoisted the key back up into the gun gallery. The inmates then took the time to rest and have a cigarette before the lunch whistle sounded.
Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years Page 39