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Michael Geiger's avatar

Wow. An amazing story. One of the survivors lives to save millions. How precious one soul can be. Beautifully written, Jack.

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Sheila Eldred's avatar

A great history story Jack. Victor Heiser sure was a lucky and smart young boy and as an adult made his work to help so many others. I love the stories you bring to Talking to American

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Thomas Gilling's avatar

Thnx, Jack. I've "always" known about the J-flood, but never in this detail. You have a way of personalizing the events and people you cover.

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Jack Kelly's avatar

Thanks, Tom. It's true I think the personal POV is an important aspect of writing history.

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Rachel Simon's avatar

Your writing brought this terrible disater to life. The map and photo are so helpful to see and feel the impact.

A beautiful ending of with the photo of a great human being.

Thank you.

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Michael Cass's avatar

This was a preventable tragedy and as usual, the wealthy club owners were never held legally responsible for the collapse of their dam and subsequent loss of life. What a surprise!

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Jack Kelly's avatar

Good point. Victor Heiser later said about the club crowd, “It is almost impossible to imagine how those people were feared."

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Grace Gunning's avatar

To survive a disaster like that is unimaginable… so defining to the rest of your life.

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Jack Kelly's avatar

Very true. Horrific scenes as the hundreds of dead, rapidly decomposing in the heat, were laid out in morgues while loved ones searched.

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