The Doctor got a Shot
in His Thumb

by Trish
(Glen Burnie MD )

Government Hill School

Government Hill School

I was five years old when the 1964 Earthquake struck.

My father, brothers, and sister were home.

My brother was watching Fireball XL5 on TV. The countdown for the spacecraft had started. When it hit 1 on the countdown, everything started shaking violently.

Dad told my older sister to sit on us to keep us from running over the broken glass. My brother stood up and held on to the television to save it.

Mom was at the Commissary getting food for Easter. She was in the parking lot getting ready to drive home. Cars in the lot were moving back and forth. She fell, and an airman had to help get her up.

It seemed like the earthquake lasted forever.

So much happened in the days that followed.

My sister's school on Government Hill had been destroyed. The J.C. Penney building was in pieces on the ground. A family who lost their home came to stay with us.

There were several aftershocks and I remember feeling very frightened.

We lived on the Air Force base in Anchorage, and I remember my mother having to boil water. There were many aftershocks, and I remember me and the other kids feeling very frightened.

Then everyone on base had to get shots.

We stood in an assembly line as the military doctor gave each person their shot.

It was uncomfortable watching everyone step up to get their shot. Then I was next.

The military doc grabbed my arm to give me the shot. But I jumped just as he was trying to put the needle in my arm. He ended up with the needle in his thumb, while I was left with a scratch.

I loved Alaska!



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in His Thumb

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Fireball XL-5
by: Walt S.

I was 8 years old at the time. I and my family were living in Glacier Trailer Park on Debarr Road.

My dad was in the Air Force and had just gotten home from work. My parents were going to the NCO club for dinner. I was sitting right in front of the TV and eating my dinner as I watched my favorite show, Fireball XL-5.

At the very beginning, it felt like something had lifted our trailer a foot or so off the ground and dropped it.

The TV went blank, and I turned to my mom in the kitchen as if to say something about the TV when the most intense shaking began.

Our trailer reeled and buckled from one side to the other. I was sitting on the floor, so I was relatively stable. But I remember looking at my mom in the kitchen, being tossed back and forth.

The noise was like 20 freight trains. All of our dishes flew out of the cabinets crashing all around my mom.

I remember seeing our refrigerator open and everything spilling out. Then the trailer got tossed back and forth.

After the first minute it was apparent this was not going to end. Mom and Dad grabbed us, and we made our way to the car.

My older brother had a paper route and was out delivering papers at the time. After all the shaking finally stopped, my brother returned home as we were getting out of the car.

Dad looked over the damage.

Remarkably, our trailer had survived. But there was no electricity, and the water lines were broken.

We ended up staying on base with some friends for a couple of days until power and water were restored.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		What I Saw
by: Anonymous

We were at Wildwood Station near Kenai and yes we were watching Fireball XL5 when the earthquake struck, just like everybody else.

I remember seeing weird things happening during the shaking such as a mirror falling off the dresser and breaking a pencil, but the mirror was OK.

A jar of chipped beef fell off the shelf going to the basement. It hit the floor and did not break.

Also watching a water tower split right in half right near the officer's club at Wildwood Station.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Brothers and Fireball XL5
by: Beth Stewart

We lived in Rogers Park when it happened, and we were watching Fireball XL5 too.

My brother also jumped up and grabbed hold of the TV.

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