Disaster In The South Bay (Southern California) - 1960s

In 1961, less than a year after my parents were married, they moved to the "South Bay" area of Southern California.  (The South Bay encompasses multiple cities, including Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, San Pedro, and quite a few others.)  My parents lived in the South Bay for eight years, and during that time, my dad photographed multiple "newsworthy" events.

This first photo shows a shipwrecked Greek freighter, the S.S. Dominator.  The ship was originally an American liberty ship, built during World War II, and launched as the S.S. Melville Jacoby.  After the war, the ship was sold into commercial service, and changed hands and names multiple times.  She was sold one last time in 1953, with her name being changed to the S.S. Dominator.  On March 13, 1961, she was on her way from Los Angeles to Vancouver, when she ran aground off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes.  My dad took this photo of the ship, but it's undated, so I don't know how long the ship had been out there in the water at this point.

These next two photos are from The Los Angeles Times.  This one appears to have been taken not too long after the shipwreck occurred.

I'm also not sure of the date on this one.  Incidentally, the S.S. Dominator was never completely salvaged, and pieces of the wreckage can still be found today, both in the water and on the shore.

On August 23, 1964, an airplane crashed in the 450 block (456) of Palos Verdes Boulevard, in Redondo Beach.  The plane was a "converted" P-51 World War II fighter.  Both the pilot and his one passenger, were killed instantly in the crash.

My family lived just around the corner from the site of the plane crash (on Calle Mira Mar), so it would have been within walking distance for my dad to get to the site.  The incident also attracted many other local residents.

The corresponding black and white photos in this post are from The Daily Breeze newspaper.  Reportedly, flames from the wreckage "reached as high as 20 to 30 feet in height, and burned intensely."

A repairman on a telephone pole can be seen in a couple of my dad's photos.  Maybe some of the telephone and power lines had been damaged during the crash?

 

 

One of the plane's wings took out part of a cinder block wall.  FYI, that's the Pacific Ocean we are seeing off in the distance. 

 

 

Many of the apartment buildings directly across the street from the accident (including the ones seen in my dad's first "plane crash" photo), were torn down in the 1970s, and replaced with the "Village Palos Verdes" condominiums.

My dad walked around to the street behind the crash site (Camino de Encanto), and took this next photo....apparently from someone's backyard.  I hope he asked for permission!

A reporter from The Daily Breeze newspaper also took a photo from the same backyard.  We can see the same two men from my dad's photo, hanging out in the backyard.

Just one year earlier (1963), and in the same neighborhood, a trash collection truck had crashed through a wall in the backyard of my family's home.  I guess walls just weren't safe in this neighborhood!

The road was higher on the other side of the wall.  That's why the truck came through the wall at that level.  It did not become airborne prior to hitting the wall!

The Madrona Marsh is a natural wetlands in Torrance, CA, and can be seen in this modern-day aerial photo (from The Daily Breeze).  At one time, the marsh extended further north, beyond the street that runs along it's current northern border.  Unfortunately, the city allowed the sale of that part of the marsh in the mid to late 1980s, and let developers build townhomes (the structures with the red tile roofs) on the former wetlands property.

In February of 1967, heavy rains caused the marsh to overflow onto the neighboring streets.  My dad took these photos on Madrona Avenue, at the point where Monterey Street used to intersect it.  When the north end of the marsh was destroyed for development, Monterey Street was realigned and a new street, "Plaza Del Amo," was created just to the south of it.

Those older apartment buildings visible in the distance are still standing today.

I attempted to merge the previous two photos.  It worked fairly well, but it's not perfect.  The wires between the telephone poles don't "connect."  On the far left is a building with signage on it's backside which reads, "Magic Chef."  This large building contained a Magic Chef Supermarket (which eventually became a Ralph's Supermarket) and a Thrifty Drug Store, and was a part of the original Del Amo Shopping Center built in the early 1960s.  That building still sits on the edge of the current mall property, but now appears to be mostly vacant, with the exception of a "Last Chance Store" (discount store) taking up a small portion of the space.

I decided to include this photo, even though I had already posted it back in June of 2018.  This photo of the Goodyear Blimp was taken in March of 1968, back when it used to make it's home at the Torrance Airport.  Apparently, there was a fairly large fire burning in the distance.  Not long after my dad took this photo, the blimp was relocated to it's current home in the City of Carson, alongside the 405 freeway.  

By the way.....Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!

Veterans Day - The U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Fort Dix, & at Sea

Today is Veteran's Day, and once again, I would like to thank all of the Veterans out there, in addition to all of the men and women who are currently serving.

Here are some more photos from my dad's collection.  These were all taken after he first reported for service with the U.S. Army, but prior to being sent to McNair Barracks in Berlin, Germany.

My dad was initially sent to Fort Benning (Fort Moore, today) in Georgia, for his basic training.  He took quite a few photos at this location, but unfortunately, I don't know the names of most of the soldiers.

 

 

 

According to the name patch on the uniform, this would be Pvt. Ross (or maybe Rose?).

Pvt. Dawson:

Pvt. Turner:

Based on the attire, I'm guessing this guy was a cook.  Maybe they called him "Cookie"?  Note the large box of saltine crackers in his hand.  I wonder if the soldiers on the far left, were lined up for the mess hall?  I'm also wondering if that object hanging next to the window, was a type of "gong" for signaling when it was mealtime?

This was the only photo in the bunch, which allowed me to see what was in the center of the "star" on all of the soldiers' sleeves.  This is a "2nd Infantry" patch, also nicknamed "The Indianhead Division."

The same image was used on the letterhead of the base's stationary.  This is from a letter that my dad wrote to his family back home.

Pvt. Mathias:

 My dad is in these next four photos.

 

 

After finishing his basic training at Fort Benning, but before being sent to Germany, my dad was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey.  He wasn't there very long, which would explain why he didn't take as many photos at that location.  The next five photos are all from Fort Dix.  

The soldier in the distance here, looks like he might be holding a transistor radio.  And his face looks like it was covered with shaving cream.  Note the pair of feet hanging over the edge of the bunk, above.

More feet!

In February of 1959, my dad was taken from Fort Dix to New York, to board a military transport ship and set sail for Germany.  This next pic was taken from a moving vehicle, traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike.  If you squint, you can see the Statue of Liberty way off in the distance.

And this is the view from that same spot, today.

My dad took this next photo before boarding the U.S.N.S. Geiger (the ship which would take him to Germany).  The ship seen here, is the U.S.N.S. Upshur.

And these next two pics were taken after boarding the U.S.N.S. Geiger.  The other ship in these photos is the Concordia Sun.

This color image shows my dad standing on the deck of the U.S.N.S. Geiger, while en route to Germany.

The U.S.N.S. Geiger was a U.S. Navy transport ship, and was first used during the Korean War.  In later years, it operated primarily out of New York, traveling to England, Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey, North Africa, and American bases in the Caribbean.

Here's an image from Wikipedia, showing the U.S.N.S Geiger out at sea.

According to the name patch and rank insignia on this soldier's uniform, he was Private First Class "Lant."

I believe this part of the ship is called the tower mast, and that the windows visible at the top are the ship's bridge.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

And I think these two cylindrical objects on the deck are called, "mooring bollards."

The water appears to be a little rough here.

All of these ship images were pretty dark, and required some "lightening."  This was the best I was able to do with this next image.  It does look like it was pretty overcast, and the deck looks wet, so perhaps it was raining.

I wonder if that was another military ship out there on the horizon?

This set of photos contained only two "interior" shots of the ship.  Maybe that soldier was writing a letter home to his parents or girlfriend?

Here he is again, shining his shoes.

The ship had it's own daily newsletter, The Geiger Counter.  My dad saved the issues from the last two days of travel.

The last day's newsletter was labeled, "Souvenir Edition," and had special cover artwork, along with the message, "Welcome to Deutschland."  (The ship was arriving at Bremerhaven, Germany.)

The first page had special farewell messages from the ship's captain and the crew.

The fact that there was a children's playroom on the ship, tells me that there must have also been civilians on board.  Perhaps if a soldier's family was going to follow him and relocate to his assigned location, they were allowed to travel with him on the same military ship?

Oh boy, a children's party with games, prizes and refreshments, on the Promenade Deck!  I hope the refreshments were served by "Isaac, Your Bartender," and that the games were supervised by "Julie, Your Cruise Director."

This page included world news events.  I wonder if Khrushchev was already planning his upcoming trip to America and to Disneyland.  (He was originally supposed to visit Disneyland on September 19, 1959, but the visit was canceled, due to security concerns.)

More world news, including the 1959 Academy Award nominations for best actor and actress:

This page had an article about how the bridge of the ship is it's "brain," and also a poem, "Ode To An Army Wife."

The last page showed the current position of the ship, along with a few other details.  That line going across the Atlantic Ocean shows the ship's progress, starting with it's departure from New York, and extending across towards it's destination of Bremerhaven, Germany.  At this point, the ship had already been at sea for six and a half days.  Since this was the last day before reaching Germany, it must have taken a full week to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  When my mom was hired to work for the U.S. Army Special Services Division that same year, they flew her to Germany on a military airplane.  I suppose it wouldn't have been very practical, to fly every single U.S. soldier to their various European destinations.

I believe once my dad arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany, he then traveled by train to Berlin.  I don't have any pictures to document this, but I do have this picture from when he was leaving Berlin for Bremerhaven, at the end of his two years of service.  My mom took this picture while seeing him off at the train station.  The photo is labeled "Leaving Berlin," and it's dated August 29, 1960.  My mom left Berlin three months later, and married my dad just a couple weeks after she arrived back in the U.S.