Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-05-01
15Dead, $50 Injured
In Georgia Tornado;
Property Ruin High

trtp-hammer blows at this mid
Georgia community at twilight
yesterday. killed Is persons. and
caused property damage esti-
mated in the millions.
Between $50 and 300 persons
were injured by the devastating
blow that churned down from
warm spring skies and left a
trail Of misery. wreckage and
death.
Eleven bodies were found amid
the litter of blasted homes in the
town Of Warner Robins. Is miles
southeast of Macon. Two per-
SonS-a 4-year-old child and the
wife Of an Air Force colonel
died when the storm wrecked
their automobiles.
The 18th victim. Glenn Regis
ter, S, son Of j. E. Register. died
OF storm injuries aboard an Air
Force plane taking him to an
Atlanta hospital.
List of Dead.
All of the dead were identi-
fed. The list:
Charles Barrentine, 4.
Sandy K. Eason, 3.
Glenn Register, S.
Hazel Cravette, 80.
Myrna 10y Cromwell.
Mrs. Troy Flander.
James C. Germany.
Ruby Lee Haynes.
Rubin w. Lindsey.
Mrs. Joe LOTUS.
Barbara Massey.
Mrs. Minnie Nixon.
Marie Nixon, 6.
Lucille Sheridan.
Tommy Walker.
More Bodies May Be Found.
More bodies may be found
under the rubble in this town
itself and in the splintered
wreckage littering the Robins
Air Force Base, a supply and
maintenance depot and the Serv-
ice headquarters for the 18th
Air Force.
Mrs. LOTUS was the wife of
Col. Joe LOTUS of the 18th Air
Force. He identified the body
in the hospital at 2 am. Hos
pital records listed three LOTUS
children among the injured,
joey, Patty and Terry. They
were not critically hurt, how
ever
Mrs. LOTUS and her children
were caught in the tornado in
their automobile. Colonel Lof-
tus was on duty when the storm
hit.
One hundred and one persons
remained in the base hospital
early today. About so others
were in Macon hospitals. Only
three members of the Air Force
personnel on the base were
known to have been injured, and
they we're dismissed after treat
ment.
Property damage to the install
lation was unohcially estimated
at more than a million dollars.
Several large structures were
flattened. including a warehouse
in the industrial area and a
building housing the civilian
payroll office.
Four-year=old Charles Barren
tine of the Dry Branch commu-
nifty in Twiggs County died when
his fathers car was hurled
nearly rs yards from the high
way. The twister had torn the
roof from the Barrentine home
and demolished a church next
door when Mr.. Barrentine herd
ed his family of four into the
family car to flee. The other
members of the family were hos
pitalized in Macon.
The swelling black funnel APP
peared shortly after S pm.
(EST), when most of the 5000
residents of Warner Robins were
preparing for dinner.
After smashing 80 two-unit
apartments in a housing prof.
ect near the base, the storm en-
tered the base itself at gate No.
2, tore down the guardhouSe and
Whirled giddily over the area.
Some structures were leveled,
some unroofed and others were
left untouched.
About so civilian workers in
the payroll Office left their jobs
only Is minutes before the storm
demolished the building. An
automobile parked near the
structure was tossed onto the
collapsed roof.
Brick buildings in the town
and on the base were torn apart
as if made of plywood. The
base post Office was smashed fiat
with the exception of one wall.
A large safe. small one, three
AAo4 ooShO dkl0 n OIdWGT COIl"
tanning stamps lay atop the
Wreckage.
A branch of the First National
Bank of Macon on the base,
which had received deposits
from Air Force personnel paid
yesterday, was blown apart as
If by a dynamite blast.
Heavy damage was reported
in the industrial area of the
military installation where sup
plies are stored and maintenance
work is done, Maj. D. de S. Tren-
holm, jr., reported. The area
was closely guarded and news
men were not permitted to enter.
Cloud Descriptions Vary.
Several witnesses reported
seeing the funnel-shaped dark
cloud usual with tornadoes,
while other said they saw black
cloud somewhat square in shape
and close to the ground.
Wind gusts in the Warner
Robins area were estimated at
100 miles an hour. Heavy rain