5:15 p.m. December 9, 1914 – West Orange, New Jersey: The fire started in building 41 on the Edison complex, which housed the chemicals for making film. By 6:30 p.m. it had spread to six adjacent buildings and an hour later 13 buildings were engulfed in flames. The...
1981 – Breese, Illinois: It was tough love time. Carol Foppe called a meeting with her husband and seven of her eight sons. Ten-year-old John wasn’t invited. Carol told the boys not to help John get dressed the next morning. It was time for her fourth grader to dress...
September 6, 1992 – San Francisco, California: When Mike McIntyre shared his unusual idea with his family, the second-guessing began immediately. His brother asked, “Why would you deliberately put yourself in this position?” His father’s reaction was, “You’ll get...
June 24, 1992 – Seattle, Washington: It had been three days since the tragic climbing accident on Mt. Rainier. Jim wrote a letter to his best friend. He began, “Dear Mike, I will strive to take this second chance I’ve been given, unfurl my wings and fly with it, and...
June 1989 – Death Row, Holman Prison – Atmore, Alabama: Thursday was execution day on death row. Ray lay awake in his five by seven-foot cell located 30 steps from the death chamber where the electric chair, “Yellow Mama,” sat. He couldn’t sleep, because the prisoner...
April 8, 1968 – Khe Sanh, Vietnam: Captain Max Cleland received an order to set up a radio relay station on a hill east of Khe Sanh. As he exited the helicopter, the 26-year-old Army signal officer saw a grenade at his feet. When he reached down to pick it up, it...
