R. Stone

Forty years after what Wikipedia describes as "the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history and one of history's largest non-nuclear explosions," journalist and Houston television personality Ron Stone interviewed survivors of the series of explosions set off by fires on ships in port loaded and in the process of being loaded) with ammonium nitrate. Two small airplanes were blown from the air with the first explosion that registered on the Richter scale in Denver, Colorado. In addition show more to the word-for-word testimony of survivors, Stone includes the results of official government investigations. Two of my relatives were working that day in the Monsanto Chemical plant that was completely destroyed in the explosions. My aunt was propelled a block away from her workstation and miraculously survived after a long and painful hospitalization. A portion of an uncle's remains was identified by the unique print of the shirt he wore to work that day. It is an inspiring story of an entire community pulling together to help. Local and regional undertakers set up an assembly line mortuary to embalm bodies that were then transported to the high school gymnasium where they were arranged in rows, where volunteers looked for evidence of identity and others could walk the long rows looking for loved ones. It's difficult reading. show less