Evening star., 1946-02-27

EDWARD H. GERRITY.
! Explosion
] Continued From First Page)
the explosion. Not until he returned
to his home at 2713 P street NV.
shortly before 7 pm. did firemer
give up the search for him in the
ruins.
Survived Six Air Missions.
Edward Gerrity, who survived siz
combat missions through fax ano
enemy fire over Italy, was to have
left tomorrow to resume his studies
at Yale University where he was q
student for a year and half until
he Joined the Army. His train ticket
was in a bureau drawer and mis-
trunk was sent on to New Haven
Monday.
The father already was on the
scene when the mother arrived
Sobbing and hysterical, she flung
herself into her husbands arms.
Where is my boy!" she cried pit
eously.
Hes all right, Blanche" Mr.. Ger
rity said, tight-lipped. He patted
her on the shoulder gently and said
again. Hes all right"
A number of city officials, includ-
ing Police Superintendent Harvey G.
Callahan, United States Attorney
Edward M. Curran, Building In
spector John w. Oehmann, Inspec-
tor Ira E. Keck and Fire Marshal
Roberts, hurried to the scene shortly
after the blast.
Maj. Callahan tried to comfort the
parents while the search for their
only son continued.
Eyes Kept on Wreckage.
Mr.. Gerrity, his coat over one
arm. never let his eyes leave the
wreckage of his house where the
f1remen searched for survivors, or
bodies.
A woman neighbor came up to
him and touched his hand in SYM
pathy. He burst into tears, never
lifting his hands to wipe them
away.
Broken furniture and mattresses
had been removed. The stove,
bathtub, an icebox and a legless
grand piano had been hauled out by
hausers snubbed around the bumpers
of fire. trucks. :
Firemen had most diffculty in
getting into breakfast room on
the right side of the house, a frame
addition that had been built on
during the Gerritys' occupancy.
The oak flooring of the library above
had collapsed intact and they had
to cut through it with axes.
Suddenly at 4:55 pm, Acting
Chief Engineer Benjamin w. Weaver
standing on heap of rubble at
the left side of the house gave a
quick order.
Firemen Gather About Spot.
Firemen abandoned work on other
parts of the house and gathered
about the spot in the basement at
which Mr.. Weaver had pointed. A
fireman was digging into the muck
of charred wood and water from
the fire hoses. The crowd sensed
what was happening and stopped
talking. A fireman hurried up with
canvas stretcher and a sheet.
Firemen gently lifted the body
out of the debris. 1t had been prone
alongside a tile partition in the
cellar. The youth was dressed in
pajama tops and underwear shorts.
The legs were charred slightly.
Mr.. Gerrity was in the house of
neighbor when the body was dis
covered. He came right out. The
body had been removed to the
morgue. The father climbed on the
debris OF his home so that fremen
could point out to him where his
son was found.
Air Medal Found.
More than so firemen worked
without rest until after dark, with
searchlights, 1-inch hawsers, fire
hooks and axes in the search for
survivors. One fireman picked up a
leather case containing a shining
piece of metal from the wreckage
1t was Edwards Air Medal.
Freckles, the family's 8-year-olo
cocker spaniel, survived the explo-
sion. At 3 o'clock he emerged drip.
ping and black with smoke from the
fire which followed the blast. Fright
ened, but unhurt, he darted into the
crowd, where he was caught and
taken to a veterinarian for exam
| ination.
Windows in all nearby homes
were shattered by the explosion
Flying glass inflicted cuts on Mrs
Edwin Darby in the house adjacent
| to the Gerrity home at 3516 Runny-
meade place NV. She was treated
by DR.. John A. Logan of 6001 Ne
vada avenue NV.
There appeared to be no actual
witnesses to the explosion but sew
eral persons saw the house collapse
in billowing cloud of smoke and
dust.
Dust Cloud Obscures Scene.
Mrs. william j. Dante, 1927 Run
nymede place NV, neighbor, ran
from her house just as the Gerrity
house collapsed. j. H. Lang, of the
$500 block of Runnymede place, told
reporters he ran to the front of his
house as soon as he heard the tre-
mendous detonation.
THE sides of the house seemed
to blow outwards and the V-shaped
roof crashed down on top of the
blasted first floor and cellar" Mr..
Lang said. "The whole scene was
obscured by a dust cloud"
Mrs. Louise Gross, 6l14 Nevada
avenue NV, whose home Is Just
opposite the Gerrity home, returned
home few minutes after the trag-