by Angela Storey &
Kenny Goode, The Banner-Independent
Fifty years ago tomorrow night an
explosion occurred at the Booneville National Guard Armory which
killed seven young Prentiss County men.
The December 22, 1950 explosion
came to be called "Black Christmas.:
Those who died were William Howard
Duncan, 31, Charles Owen Fugitt, 21, and Freddie Fulghum, 18, all of
Booneville; Lawrence Sidney Burks, 30, Billy Wade Mooney, 18, and
James Ray (Jimmy) Robinson, 19, all of Thrasher; and Hugh Thomas
Weatherbee, 18, of Rienzi.
"The death toll from this stark
tragedy is the worst in Prentiss County's history and brought sorrow
to every home in the area," said a story in the December 28, 1950
edition of The Booneville Banner.
"In the business section, groups
gathered on street corners to discuss the disaster which has rocked
this little Northeast Mississippi city to its foundation," The
Commercial Appeal reported.
The explosion of undetermined
origin blasted the wash room of the Booneville Armory Friday evening
around 8 o'clock, the Booneville newspaper said.
The Guardsmen were cleaning
carbines when the explosion occurred.
Fugit and Duncan were killed
instantly. Weatherbee, Mooney, Burks and Robinson died
Saturday morning and Fulghum died Saturday night.
Those injured were Harmon Barron,
Hardy (Red) Prentiss, William R. Spencer and R. J. (Joy) Skelton.
Newspaper reports said they were not seriously injured and were
treated for shock and minor burns.
Company B, 198th Tank Battalion was
drilling that night in preparation for their departure for active
duty in the Korean Conflict with the 31st Division on January 16,
1951.
"These men were on the detail list
for cleaning guns, and they were doing this when, without warning,
the whole room seemed to go up in flames," Captain Fred Houston said
in an interview in the December 23,1950 edition of the Commercial
Appeal.
The Memphis newspaper reported
there were unconfirmed reports the men were cleaning rifles with
high octane gasoline and that the can was knocked over accidentally.
The fumes spread to the heater causing the explosion.
"It's quite likely something that
couldn't be helped (happened) and we may never know exactly what the
cause was," one National Guard official was quoted as saying.
The tragedy is remembered vividly
50 years later by those who were there such as Booneville resident
Dick Bullard, who was a Thrasher 11th grade student at the time.
Bullard, now 69, remembers how Sgt.
Red Prentiss came down the line, picking those who were to go in
that room to clean the weapons.
"He skipped over me," Bullard said,
but tow of his best buddies whom he played ball with at Thrasher -
Hugh Thomas Weatherbee and Billy Mooney - were picked for the
detail.
"They both got picked to go in that
room and both got killed," Bullard said.
Open buckets of gasoline were being
used to clean the weapons, he said. "It was an open blaze fire
in there. When the gas fumes to to that fire it went off like
a bomb. It was so furious, this big metal door, which
was about half open, just jammed shut. We finally had to get a
big timber in there and force that door open."
When they finally broke in there to
them, Bullard said he carried his buddies Weatherbee and Money to
the hospital. "They were walking but burned pretty bad.
Those boys talked to me all night long, asking if I thought they'd
have to go on to the Army," he said.
But they died before daylight the
next morning, Bullard said.
The two who survived the blast -
Norman Ford and W. R. Spencer - survived because one got in the
shower and the other stuck his head in the commode to keep the fire
away from their faces, Bullard said.
"It was a black Christmas. I
think about it all the time. Those two boys were good buddies.
I came close to being right in there myself."
Smith Goddard of Booneville was
also among the men on duty that day.
"I had just come out of the
building when I heard a big bang from inside. Our lockers were
back there and I thought somebody had hit the lockers with something
as a prank. Then one of the other guys came out and told us,
"Those boys are burning up back there."
Goddard said he was in disbelief as
he went to a window and could see the inferno inside but was
helpless to rescue those who were on fire.
"I have never felt any worse in my
life. I was only four or five feet away but could not do
anything to help them."
Suddenly one of the men found his
way out of the fire and Goddard took him to the hospital. "He
walked to the car on his own but died at the hospital the next day."
Goddard was a pallbearer for two of
them - Burks and Duncan.
"They were all fine boys. I
don't know why it always is, but it seems like the worst things
happen to the best. They were the cream of the crop."
Coach Bill Ward of Booneville was
also at the National Guard Armory that day.
"I was outside washing tanks in
December if you can believe that."
Ward described the tragedy as
"Chaos".
"There was a ball game going on at
Booneville High School and the town was full of traffic. Of
course, at that time we didn't know what had happened or what had
caused the explosion."
Ward said he still thinks about it
a lot, especially when he sees family members of those who died.
"It was some ordeal they went
through." Ward remembered. "One of the boys planned his
funeral while he was in the hospital and even named the songs he
wanted sung."
Zandria Huddleston of Booneville
was only six years old when her 18-year-old brother, Hugh Thomas
Weatherbee, was killed in the explosion.
She remembers that day so well.
"I had gotten out of school at
Thrasher. My teacher, Miss Pearl Walden, had given me a
coloring book and colors for Christmas.
"Tom wanted to color in the
coloring book and colored two pictures for me. He signed them
and dated them.
The date was the day of the
explosion.
Jettie Nunley framed the pictures
from the coloring book for her. Zandria keeps the pictures out
year round but at Christmastime they are put around the Christmas
tree in memory of her brother.
"Every Christmas our thoughts turn
back to that sad Christmas and to the memory of those seven young
men," she said.
The names of those who died are
inscribed on the war memorial on the courthouse square at the
Prentiss County Courthouse so they will always be remembered. |