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By Root 718 0

sight of both correctional officers and other inmates, he would conceal a garment or other potentially useful item in his jacket, and later hide it in a canvas bag under the dock. The dock security procedures were extremely tight, but there were frequent counts and searches of the inmates before they were allowed to return to the cellhouse. When the Army launch departed, Giles was always permitted to walk to the ramp area and sweep up, which provided the perfect opportunity to pull out his hidden bag and secrete his newly acquired items. Opportunities to lift items were scarce, and the process was tedious. It would take nearly ten years before he acquired all of the materials needed for his attempt.

On the morning of July 31, 1945, Giles was prepared for his escape, now having pieced together a complete Technical Sergeant’s uniform. At 10:10 a.m. the Army vessel General Frank M. Coxe pulled up next to the Alcatraz dock, parallel to a descending ramp. The soldiers exited onto the wharf and they were quickly counted, and then permitted to begin off-loading the laundry. Giles moved down the ramp and swiftly slipped on his improvised uniform. The uniform looked as though it fit Giles well, but it had a tousled and wrinkled appearance. Armed with only a flashlight, Giles boarded the vessel through a freight hatchway located just below deck. It is believed that Giles found his way to the boat’s lavatory and waited until the Coxe departed before venturing back out into a secluded area of the boat. Sergeant-at-Arms Corporal Paul Lorinz later stated that he was tipped off by deckhand Jerry Van Soest that a soldier was wandering below deck. Lorinz investigated and found Giles standing alone in a secluded area, and he asked him “Where are you going Sergeant?” Lorinz noted that Giles failed to look at him directly and responded by stating he was heading to “Fort McDowell.” When questioned further by Lorinz, Giles stated that he was a line repairman who was checking cables. He then pulled out a notebook and acted as though his was making notes. Lorinz made his way back up to the deck and reported that a soldier was onboard who had failed to present a pass.

John Giles would devise one of the most clever escape plans ever conceived at Alcatraz. Over the course of several years, he worked to collect and assemble a full Army uniform out of the Army laundry that was delivered to the dock area. This photo was taken immediately following his capture back on Alcatraz.

Army vessel General Frank M. Coxe. The open hatch door shows where Giles made his entry onto the vessel.

Back at Alcatraz, Giles’ absence had already been detected after he missed the routine departure count. Associate Warden E.J. Miller was contacted, and he and Phil Bergen quickly summoned the prison launch to rendezvous with the Army vessel, which was heading toward Angel Island. Warden Johnston was already on the phone making arrangements to have Giles apprehended once the Coxe arrived at Fort McDowell. Giles was completely unaware that his short taste of freedom had ended before it even began. As the Coxe arrived at Angel Island, Lieutenant Gordon L. Kilgore approached him asking to see his passes. As Giles disembarked from the launch, Miller and Bergen approached him and without any struggle, they handcuffed him and took him aboard the Warden Johnston to head back to the island. “You really felt kind of sorry for him once you saw the look on his face” Captain of the Guards Phil Bergen would later recall ...“He really should have won some sort of an award with that uniform.”

Giles was immediately returned to the island and was placed directly into the solitary strip cell. The FBI investigated the escape and put together an inventory of the items that had been found in Giles’s possession.

Warden James A. Johnston

United States Penitentiary

Alcatraz Island

San Francisco, California

Re: John Knight Giles

Dear Warden Johnston:

Pursuant to your request the following to your request the following personal effects which were found in the possession of the above