Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years

by Michael Esslinger

  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 Arsenault 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 passing 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 assigned 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 passage 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 pass 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 Associate 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 passageway, 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 passage and examined by Dr. Roucek. He carefully assessed the wounds on each, articulating every detail to his assistant 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 pronounced dead at 10:12 A.M. this date.

  Examination was witnessed by the following Officers:

  Medical Technical Assistant, 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 gua
rds 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 assessed the aftermath of the battle. The wind whistled through the mortar holes in D Block. Correctional staff from the other prisons assisted 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 assigned an inmate to cover as he stepped from his cell. The guard assigned to cover me was a stranger, possibly from another institution. 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 Saltwater 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 documented 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 hearse 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 Stites’ son) and Warden Johnston gave a brief testimonial for Harold Stites during a ceremony held at Alcatraz.

  Officer Harold Stites’ 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 Stites’ 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 Godeau 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 Stites’ 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.