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My father was William Jones.  We lived in Seward but he was on a fishing boat in Kodiak.  The crew tried to take the boat out before the tidal wave hit.  My dad was the only one to die.  But, what has always bothered me is he is not mentioned in Kodiak deaths nor Seward.  He left behind a wife and 6 children.  His body was never found.  For children, that is a terrible thing. Submitted by Debra Jones, Daughter of William Jones
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Jack Theodore Van Buskirk 1926-1964  died at Valdez. He was the son of Ralph & Frances Elba Onalee Harris VanBuskirk and husband of Janet Louise Clairmore Vanbuskirk.

 
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Lee Marlin Styer, was the son of Leroy and Alice (Hayden) Styer of Anchorage, he was 18. Lee had gone to the J.C. Penny building in downtown Anchorage to visit a friend and died there when the building collapsed during the 1964 Alaska Earthquake. He was a senior in high school and a member of the Faith Aapostolic Church. Information and photo submitted by Suzanne Cook Taylor

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I was 18 months old when my father was killed. My father, Richard Jay Robinson, (1936-1964), he was the Branch President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Valdez, Alaska. He worked with his father, Rex Johnson Robinson, they had a sawmill together. Richard also owned and operated a 21' cabin cruiser, named the "Nomad". He was also the #1 longshoreman in Valdez. He, as well as many other men from town, were unloading a ship down at the dock when the earthquake struck. His body, as well as many others that were at the dock, was never found. Richard was the husband of Sharon, and father of three children; Lynne, Richard II, and Gregory, all survivors. (Lynne was killed 24 March 1978 - also on Good Friday) Written by Greg  Robinson, son of Richard Robinson
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Airman Gordon Wallace, his wife Arlene and 7 year old step-son Jack Leroy Bushor (son of Jack Bushor Sr.) were headed back to the Naval Base on Kodiak Island when the earthquake struck.  Gordon Wallace survived, but his wife's body was found inside of the family car and his step-sons body was found nearby. Arlene and son were buried in the Shenango Valley Cemetery in Mercer Co., Pennsylvania.  Information taken from the Kodiak Mirror and researcher Mona Anderson
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The Art Vosgien family and the Maurice Curry family were near Kalsin Bay on Kodiak Island when the earthquake hit. The two families and their children tried to get back to the Naval Base but 12 year old sons, from each family: Richard Vosgien and Maurice Curry, were swept away by a tsunami wave and drowned.
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My brother, Lewis Michelson and his partner David Barnes were living together with their 6 children and had for at least a year.  The summer before, they had built a cabin and they lived there all summer with the 6 kids and fished for salmon.  That winter, they moved into an empty house in Whittier (I think it was in the lumber yard). There was a couple living in one of the other houses in this "camp" as caretakers of the buildings.  The day of the quake, my brother had returned from being out on the water a short time before the quake.  It was my brothers birthday.  Lewis, Dave, 6 kids and a friend with her son had gone to the caretaker couples house for a birthday celebration when the earthquake came.  Someone who was at the Base in Whittier wrote to my mother and gave her this information. She said that all that was left of the house was kindling!!  My brother was born on March 27th Good Friday and died on his birthday March 27th Good Friday.  I think Dave Barnes was from South Dakota. Their bodies were never found.  
Submitted by Margaret Basta   Montana
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We left Whittier in the fall of 1964. I was working for Union 76 at the time and I spent the summer after the earthquake fueling equipment.  There was more than one tsunami. The one that reached the Head of the Bay (by the tunnel) washed on shore far enough to destroy the Two Brothers Lumber Co.  The main tsunami was directed more at the town of Whittier. It was about 45' high.  My wife and I and 3 kids ran f rom it because it was coming right at us.  The other saw mill Columbia Lumber Co., where most of the people were lost, was located close to the end (tunnel end) of the existing small boat harbor.  Dave Barnes was my wife's cousins husband.  their children had been to our home many times.  I have pictures of Dave and Lewis Michelson's children at a birthday party with my kids at our Union Oil apartment in Whittier.  I also have pictures of Leonard and Daisy Day who worked at the mill and were lost in the tidal wave. Submitted by Dick Osburn
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My young husband, Richard Jay Robinson was one of those killed on the dock in Valdez. The Stuart family (of 5) were waiting for him to get off work so they could go for a boat ride together. I was at work or I would have been there also. We had three little ones. Written by Sharon Robinson May
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Frank Reid was a Coast Guardsman on Cape St. Elias on the southwestern tip of Kayak Island. During the earthquake, his leg was broken by falling rock. During the process of being evacuated, by three fellow Guardsmen, a 10' wave swept all four men out to sea. The three men that were rescuing Reid managed to swim to safety, Frank Reid did not.
Lander, J.F. Tsunamis Affecting Alaska 1737-1996
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My father Jesse Lee Hatch was born in Seward, Alaska. He was the son of Peter and Annie Hatch who met at the Jesse Lee Home in Seward. My father was fishing out of Seward the day the earthquake hit on a 56 foot boat called the Chris.
Submitted by Lisa Graham ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jesse Hatch was my Uncle, he was a commercial fisherman who died in the 1964 earthquake, he was never found. They only found pieces of the boat. Submitted by Pam Cook
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Nicholas Kompkoff Sr. and his nine year old daughter were running from the Tsunami (Nicholas was carrying his two younger daughters) when they were all hit by the wave.  Nicholas was thrown across a creek and lost grip on one of the little girls. His youngest, Norma Jean age 3 as well as his 9 year old daughter were swept away by the tsunami at Chenega. Submitted by Avis Kompkoff
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Clarence Paul Bledsoe was born November 8, 1920 in Ellensburg, Washington to Howard and Vera (De Weese) Bledsoe.  Clarence was never married and had no children. Submitted by Elaine Bledsoe Wischnowsky
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On March 27, 1964, I was a girl of 9 living with my immediate family in Ketchikan.  Both sets of grandparents, as well as some aunts and uncles and cousins, were living in Valdez.  My mother's brother, Gerald Zook, was among those who were lost. Gerald Lee (Hibner) Zook was a longshoreman and was working on the dock at Valdez, as were many others, when the earthquake hit.  His body was never found.  Jerry, as he was called, was 27 and was to have been married the following week.  He was born in Wrangell, Alaska and was the son of Nettie Prescott and Lyle Hibner. He served in the U.S. Navy in the late 1950's and early 60's.  Upon his discharge he went to live in Valdez near his mother and stepfather (Bill Zook). Submitted by Teresa Hayden Campbell
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Howard Krieger and Paul Gregorieff were Valdez longshoreman working on the freighter S. S. Chena when the earthquake hit. Less than a minute after the earthquake started, the ground supporting the Valdez dock collapsed and several hundred feet of the dock slid into the bay. When that happened, the Chena was severely pitched and the shifting cargo crushed the two men.
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I was eleven years old and in Port Williams, Shuyak Island (north of Kodiak) when the earthquake hit. A local Native Alaskan man named Sammy Pettikof disappeared in Shuyak Strait on his boat immediately after the earthquake, presumed drowned in the tidal wave. Submitted by Tom Peterson
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My grandfather was Paul Gregorieff.  He died in the Good Friday earthquake.  My grandmother was Mary (Vlasoff) Gregorieff, she died in 2003.  Thank you for putting their names on your web site. Submitted by Susan Reynaga
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I lost a very dear friend, Rev. Duanne Carriker, that day in Valdez.  He was the minister of the Assembly of God Church and worked as a longshoreman. He was working on the dock at the time the quake hit.  His body was never recovered. He was 33 years old, had been in the military and attended Bible College.  His wife, small son and daughter were flown out for safety later that night.  Bonnie Carriker is still at the radio station at North Pole, Alaska. Submitted by Karen Welborn
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Our father, Donald Mueller, was born in Davenport Iowa on October 3, 1925.  Dad attended school in Hermann and was a senior in high school when he was called to army service in W.W.II. He was inducted in January 1944 and served 8 ½ months in the 35th Infantry Division and was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge. After discharge, he had several jobs but re-enlisted in the army in October 1960 and was assigned to US Army Alaska Yukon Command. He was discharged in October 1963. He remained in Alaska, working for a construction company and as a part time employee of the Alaska Steamship Company. He apparently was on the dock waiting to unload the ship Chena when earthquake hit. The subsequent tsunami washed him and many others out to sea. Dads body was never found. My brother and I have letters that dad wrote to us shortly before the earthquake. My brothers is dated March 23, 1964.  Our father and mother (Norma Hurst Mueller) were married 10/14/1949 and divorced 6 years later. My brother and I were raised by our grandparents, Victor and Blanche Mueller. Submitted by the surviving children of  Donald Muelle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. Perry Mead, a neurosurgeon in Anchorage, and his wife Wanda (maiden name Merrell) a teacher, had five children and a large home in the Turnagain area, in 1964. Dr. Mead was at work and Wanda had gone to the store to get Easter goods the afternoon of March 27th. When the earthquake struck, four of the Mead children (Perry, Pamela, Penelope & Paul) ran out of the house. Realizing that baby Merrell (age 2) was still inside, Perry (age 12) ran back in to get him. Just as he did, the house slid off the bluff into the ocean; the two children were never found.  The three remaining children were rescued (by ropes) from a large sinkhole in their front yard. Submitted by Dr. deShawn Merrell cousin to the Mead children and John Dillman 1964 Rescue group and family friend.
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Sterling Stapp was 16 when he watched his father (also named Sterling Stapp) get washed off of the Valdez dock during the 1964 tidal wave. Submitted  by Honora (Roselyn) Windeler Drew ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lester Finke was my grandfather, he was killed at Seward in the earthquake/tidal wave.  he was a commercial fisherman and there was lots of ice floating in the harbor on Good Friday 1964.  After the earthquake, a bunch of men went down to the docks to check their boats.  The tidal wave hit and they were washed away. Submitted  by Lester Finke ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jim Growden was my uncle and I have such fun memories of him.  He would stay with us in Anchorage when he was in the Army.  I remember the sleigh bells on the roof (SANTA),  "LASSIE was hit by a car last week" (my mother would thump him a good one as her 4 children were near tears,) he loved burnt toast ( our kitchen always smelled) and he helped my mother out with the 4 kids when my Dad was up on the north slope for months at a time.  Out of 4 brothers, Jimmy was the one who went to college (paid for by his older brothers) and became the beloved teacher and coach.  He was so loved by his wife and children and all of his nephews and me, the one niece in the crowd.  In a nutshell, that is my Uncle Jimmy.   I loved him unconditionally....and all of his practical jokes, unconditionally. Submitted  by Kim Growden Hammers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dan Boddy met his wife while he was stationed in the military in Fairbanks.  He had a variety of jobs including hauling cars over the Alaska Highway for a Fairbanks car dealership.  In the spring of 1964, there were road restrictions, due to an early spring thaw, so Dan's usual job of hauling cars was on hold.  Instead, he worked that spring for Lynden Transport and was in Valdez, the day of the 1964 earthquake, to pick up cargo from the ship, "Chena".  While on the dock, he ran into an old service buddy and was invited to go into town for a drink and talk over old times.  He declined the offer.  The old friend later told Dan's wife that, as he left Dan on the dock, and proceeded to walk up the street into town, the earthquake struck.  He turned around and the dock, and everyone on it, were gone.  He said it happened just that fast.   Dan's wife said that when her husband kissed her good-bye, before driving to Valdez that morning, he was strangely quiet and she later wondered if he had a premonition about the way the trip would end.  Dan's body was was found, early the following week, washed up on Potato Point near Valdez.  It's ironic that the family had plans to move out of Alaska, and had already purchased a home in Seattle, when Dan Boddy died in the 1964 earthquake.
Submitted by daughter, Nancy Boddy
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Bob Simmons was my uncle.  My mother, Barbara Simmons was his sister.  The earthquake was shortly before I was born . According to my mother uncle Bob was out fishing, & the nameplate of his boat was found several miles inland. Nothing else was ever found.  Their mother was named Noni. According to my mother Bob was an accomplished outdoorsman who used to go out into the Alaskan Wilderness for months at a time & come back "several pounds heavier".  I will inquire further the next time I see her. He and his brothers and sisters grew up in Peace River County, Alberta. Submitted by Bob Blakely
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Robert Martin Simmon's was my father.  His date of birth was May 14, 1921 and his date of death was March 27, 1964. His mother was Olive Lay Simmons and his father was Lester Benjamin Simmons.  Daddy was Irish, Scot and English as far as I know. Olive worked as a school teacher in Alberta and died in White Rock, B. C. in the 1960's. His wife was named Lou , I believe she was Yupik.       Written by Edna Deerunner Simmons
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My father, Albert Reft, Sr. was born in Karluk.  He had 2 brothers, one named Gus Reft and  other Charlie Reft.  He also had 2 sisters, Mary (Reft) Gallager  and Annie (Reft) Anderson White.

In 1964 I was 17 y/o myself.  I was raised by my aunt Mary Gallagher and she was married to Thomas Gallagher.  They owned and operated the Polar Bear Cafe for years, until the tidal wave arrived.  My understanding of the circumstances behind my father's fate comes to me 2nd hand, through friends who reported this to my aunt Mary.

Thomas Gallagher was very fond of animals and he had a large herd of cattle on Long Island and Near Island as well.  At Near Island he also had pigs and horses.  On March 27th my father was with my uncle Thomas at Near Island to feed the cattle and the pigs.  It was unusual for my father to assist my uncle in this regard as myself, and my younger brother Thomas, would always assist our uncle in feeding his animals.  However, that day they were at Near Island and they used a skiff about 16 foot long with a 25 hp outboard motor.  I was told that when the first shock arrived (and it was large) that their outboard motor was flung from their skiff by this jolt.  Both my father and uncle had noticed that the water level was rising and they decided to head back to the boat harbor, which was a short distance from their skiff on the beach.  They used oars to get themselves back to the boat harbor, and once there, my uncle scurried up to the dock.  However, my father, noticing a friend's boat being tied at its mooring and the boat's mooring lines being very taunt from the rising waters, decided to undo the lines of his friend's boat and he attempted to bring this boat to safe waters.  My uncle Gallagher told us that he did get the lines undone and attempted to bring the boat to safer waters.  He said he pleaded with my father to jump the boat, to let it go, and get to safe ground.  He did not listen to my uncle and so he remained on his friend's boat.  We only know that he was on this boat and after all had settled down no traces of the boat or my father could be found.  Obviously, like many of us at this moment in time, he was not aware of the power a tsunami has, especially the size of the one that hit Kodiak.

It was several days after the tidal wave action had ceased that the word about my father's fate had actually reached us.  My aunt Mary Gallagher and my father were very close to each other and I do remember her giving me the news about my dad.  She was standing in our sun room, it was a cold, windy and rainy day and she was full of tears.  She stated that all attempts to find traces of our father and the boat he was on was in vane.  I don't even remember the name of the boat or the name of the friend my father new that owned it. Submitted by Albert A. Reft Jr. 

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"On the afternoon train, in to Whittier, were Mrs. Francis Damon, her 16 year old son Larry from Soldotna, and David Barnes, an employee of the Two Brothers Lumber Company who was returning from a week's absence. Larry was planning on helping Lewis Michelson, another employee of the lumber company, to get his boat ready for the fishing season. The Barnes and Michelsons were friends in nearly identical situations, both raising three small children, two boys and a daughter, each being 6 years old and younger, without the mothers. Both lived in company housing near the waterfront. As the 27th was Lewis Michelson's birthday, all ten had gathered at his house for a birthday dinner by 5:30 P.M. Another couple, Leonard Day, a caretaker at the lumber company, and his wife, Alberta, also lived in company housing. He was retiring and they expected to leave in a week for the "Lower 48." (Norton and Haas, 1970, P.132). Within 45 seconds of the onset of the earthquake shaking that had started slowly and quickly became violent, the first oil storage tank failed as its bottom moved away. About 1 minute after the shaking started the first wave rose glassy smooth over the bank. A returning breaking wave flooded the lower part of town to a height of 25 to 26 feet above lower low water, the water level at that time. Low tide was predicted for 6:16 P.M. at -0.16 feet. About one minute later a second breaking wave hit at a height of about 40 feet causing great destruction to the railroad yards. The maximum height reported in Whittier was 43 feet near the small boat harbor location at that time. A witness reported seeing a wall of water coming ashore. Offshore the water had the appearance of something having exploded underneath the canal about 50 yards off shore. A third breaking wave hit about a minute later with a height of 30 feet. The ten people at the Michelson's home and the Day's were washed away and never found. These were all due to local landslide tsunamis. At the time of the initial shock and first small wave, Jerry Ware, a railroad maintenance man, was standing at the car barge dock. He drove to his house near the depot for his wife and six month old daughter. A wave came in the window and smashed the trailer, throwing Mrs. Ware clear but washed away Geriann, the infant. Ware was swept through the porch wall and rode and swam with the porch door. He found his wife in the mud and water clear of the trailer. She had serious injuries, with pieces of wood embedded in her body, a fractured ankle and an injured shoulder. She was airlifted out of Whittier the next afternoon on the first flight out and eventually evacuated to Seattle where she recovered. Her baby was found alive in a snow bank but died shortly afterwards. Mrs Ware was the only serious injury from the tsunami or earthquake at Whittier".
Norton and Haas, 1970, p. 312).   (see corrected information about the Ware family next)
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UPDATE: The inside of Judy Ware's arm was ripped or torn open from her palm to her elbow by a piece of wood debris. Her arm was broken between her elbow and shoulder. We were air lifted to Providence Hospital in Anchorage for emergency treatment on Sunday (quake was on Friday). Gas gangrene had attacked her arm near her right wrist. We were evacuated to Settle so she could receive treatment in an oxygen  chamber for the gangrene. Her leg was not broken, but Jerry Ware's left ankle was broken.Submitted by Jerry and Judy Ware
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I was there in Chenega, I ran from a 96 ft tidal wave, don't know how I made it. We ran up the mountain and stayed up their all night cause we heard there was going to  be another quake.  We had a fire going.  I ran up the mountain without shoes, so they had a time keeping my feet warm. After the waves, we were going down to the school and in my heart I knew Mom and Dad and Joann were gone. My oldest girl Joann, 3½, was with the mom that raised me, so she died with her and dad.  Mom and dad were Willy and Sally Evanoff. The next morning the mail plane came and picked 15 of us up at once and later went back and got the others.  Twenty seven out of 87 or so people died that day.  There were a lot of good people in Old Chenega. They found my daughters body on Knight Island two weeks after the earthquake. Submitted by Avis Kompkoff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Technical Sergeant Donald McClure, 34 years old, was eel fishing with a friend at the mouth of the Klamath River, just south of Crescent City, California, when the tsunami carried both men and the tons of logs and driftwood debris on the beach about half a mile up the River.  My father received "The Airman's Medal" (posthumously) for his bravery in saving his friend life that night.  He was missing for about a month and his body was finally discovered on April 26th about 5-1/2 miles north of Patricks Point buoy by fishermen aboard the boat Sally out of Trinidad Harbor. He was buried May 4th at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.  He left behind a wife and 3 children, the youngest being 3 weeks old.   His father was Thomas Henry McClure of Pikens County, Georgia, and Ethel Plott of Union County, Georgia. Submitted by Doris McClure Andersen

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My father, Technical Sergeant Stuart W. Harrington, was eel fishing on a sandbar in the mouth of the Klamath River with his best friend, Technical Sergeant Donald McClure, when the tsunami struck. According to my father's account to the Air Force, and The Raging Sea, a book by Dennis Powers published in 2005, the tsunami pushed them as much as 2 miles up the river. This estimate was based upon Sgt. Harrington's description of the landmarks and the site of the first rescue attempt. Stuart Harrington was a few years older than Don McClure and was terribly hindered by his weighted chest waders and heavy woolen clothing. Sgt. McClure pulled him onto a redwood log at a point when he could no longer pull himself up. He never would have survived without his dear friend's strength and courage. It is a true tragedy that Sgt. McClure was lost when the second wave hit as he and my father were attempting to swim to shore amidst the debris. It is a miracle that my father survived. My father was pained that his survival received more media attention at the time than did Sgt. McClure's death. He grieved the loss of his friend until his own death on September 26, 1993. Submitted by Susan H. Tedrick, Esq.   daughter of Stuart W. Harrington
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William “Bill” and Agatha Clawson owned a tavern called the “Long Branch” in Crescent City, California. They, and a group of friends, were celebrating Bill Clawson's birthday. After the first tsunami flooding, The Clawson's, their 27 year old son Gary, Gary's fiancé Joan Fields, an employee named Juanita Edwards and her husband Earl, a friend named M. D. McGuire and the tavern bartender, Bruce Garden all went back to the tavern to inspect the damage and collect the money from the cash register. Underestimating what was yet to come, the group decided to stay at the tavern and have a birthday toast. The next tsunami wave destroyed the tavern. As Gary Clawson & McGuire swam to shore, the rest of the party sought safety on the floating tavern roof. Clawson found a rowboat and rowed through fires that were floating on the water, back out to the stranded people. All seven people got into the rowboat and headed for shore. When the boat was 75' from shore, the water receded as quickly as it came in and the boat was forced into the Elk Creek Bridge where it broke apart and everyone was sucked into the culvert. Some were trapped in debris that was in the culvert but Gary Clawson made it to through the culvert and was carried out to sea (where he was able to swim back to shore). The bartender saved himself by hanging on to something, but the other five drowned.
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My grandmother was Juanita Pearl Edwards and she died with the others from the Long Branch Tavern in Crescent City.  This was two years before I was born so I never knew her but she is dearly missed. Submitted by Cheri Goodwin, Oregon
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My half sister was  Joan Vey Fields Died in the 1964 Crescent City Tsunami.  I remember Joan as being very sweet and could draw beautiful pictures... She made me feel special... I was 13 years old when she died in the 1964 Crescent City Tsunami... I didn't know her well but I loved her very much... After our father died I never heard from the family at all... I don't know if she was found or if she has been buried. We had another sister Joan's Sister Bev I don't know where she is either. Our father's name was Irvin Crawford everyone called him Jack all his family are from Lassen County. I don't know to much about Joan's Mom except that my Mom and her were friends at one time.
Submitted by Joans half sister Patty.

(Note: Joan Vey Fields was at the Long Branch Tavern at Crescent City, celebrating the 54th birthday of her future father in law.  Five people from the saloon died including Joan and her future in-laws.  The only survivor was Joan's fiancé, Gary Clauson.)
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Mrs. William Wright, who lived on Highway 101, Crescent City, California lost her two children to tsunami waves. Her 10 month old son William and her 3 year old daughter Bonita were pulled from her arms by waves.
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Lavella Hillsburg of Hammond Hill Road in Crescent City, California...left her home and drove to a friends house to warn them of the coming tsunami. When the group tried to leave in Hillsburg's car, the wave stalled the car, so the three people tried to evacuate on foot. Lavella didn't make it, and drowned.
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Please feel free to contact me if you would like to add or change
information:   coleen_mielke@hotmail.com