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Back in the bloody cell, Ernie Lageson carefully looked up, and seeing that no one was watching over them, he slowly reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pencil. On the cell wall he inscribed the names of Cretzer, Coy, Carnes, Hubbard, Thompson and Shockley. He then circled the names of Cretzer, Coy, and Hubbard, and placed a check next to Cretzer’s. The list was written indistinctly but legibly on the cell wall, and was clear enough to serve as evidence if the guards were all killed. The circled names indicated the ringleaders, and the check mark would leave no question as to who had committed the murders.

Officer Lageson had the foresight to scrawl the names of the conspiring inmates on the cell wall, circling the names of the ringleaders. This would prove to be a key piece of evidence in the trial of the surviving inmates.

(Author’s note: It has also been argued that it was Officer Carl Sundstrom who inscribed the names on the cell wall. Armory Officer Clifford Fish vehemently insisted that Sundstrom had told him immediately after being rescued from the cellhouse that he had performed this act. I have been unable to find any other references that provided proof of this argument, but Fish’s account should also be considered, as he seemed adamant about this fact, and his recollections of events were usually exceptionally precise. For the sake of accuracy, it should also be noted that a feature article in the San Francisco Chronicle [May 5, 1946, p. 8] reported that Sundstrom had first made notations on a blank piece of white paper, and had then inscribed on the cell floor: “Cretzer killed or shot Joe Simpson in the stomach and chest twice and shot Baker also. He missed me so far.” It is possible that these two details have been confused, and that Lageson was actually responsible for the wall inscription.)

Cretzer, Hubbard, and Coy then started toward C Block, entering the utility corridor and cautiously ascending the array of plumbing pipes and electrical conduits. After making the climb and reaching the top, each inmate carefully perched himself so as to have a clear view of the entryway, with the intention of eliminating as many officers as possible. The inmates probably considered this as the most strategic platform from which to monitor all the activities of the assault teams that were sure to come. The cellhouse had descended into an eerie quiet. The sirens had stopped wailing, and the ringing phones had finally gone still. Most of the inmates had returned to their cells, and the noise level had flattened into a dead silence, broken occasionally by the screech of a passing seagull.

It was approximately 2:45 p.m., and Lieutenant Phil Bergen was enjoying a quiet day off with his wife on the mainland, while his two daughters were still in school. By now, news of the Alcatraz “blast out” was spreading around San Francisco, with most of the facts terribly exaggerated by the newscasters. When Bergen heard the news, he immediately found a phone and contacted Cliff Fish in the Armory. Fish stated that there was little information that had been confirmed, but that they could identify one of the attempted escapees as Bernie Coy. They also knew that Bernie was armed with a .30-06 Springfield, which he had somehow managed to seize from Bert Burch in the gun gallery. Fish further explained that he and his colleagues had been unable to contact any of the officers within the cellhouse, with the exception of Stucker in the basement and the hospital officer, who hadn’t been aware that there were problems downstairs. Bergen immediately reported to Pier #4 at Fort Mason, where Coast Guard cutters were standing by to carry off-duty officers who were reporting back to the island.

As the reserve officers reported for duty, they were immediately readied and posted at various points around the prison. Prior to Bergen’s arrival, two officers had been sent to take up positions in the East Gun Gallery, and Officers Harold P. Stitesand Joe Maxell had been posted to the west side. But as soon as the two