Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [193]
Coy armed with his rifle and Cretzer with his .45 watched the officers make their entry into the gallery. They carefully took aim at the shadows moving down the caged corridor, and then once they had a sure shot, they fired almost in unison. As soon as the shots were discharged, Stites, Bergen and Cochrane instantaneously dropped for cover under a volley of return fire. The officers on the catwalk squeezed into the entrance, and they too started shooting into the cellhouse. A brief gun battle ensued while Bergen and Cochrane made a concerted effort to locate the origin of the gunfire, without success. Meanwhile, the deafening barrage was heard all the way to the city’s shores. Bergen yelled out to Stites to head for the stairs, where they could take cover and secure better positions from which to return fire. As Cochrane attempted to climb the stairs, he was violently struck by a bullet in his right arm. Bergen yelled emphatically to cease fire, and led the reluctant Cochrane back to the entrance. Richberger had also suffered a major gunshot wound to the leg, and in a painful low stance, he limped along the catwalk back to safety. Bert Burch, still tied and unable to move, tried to remain as still as possible to avoid being hit or targeted.
The team quickly regrouped outside the gallery entrance, and Bergen, full of determination, prepared to reenter and take control of the gallery. Bergen and Stites, now followed by the reserve officers, quickly rushed back into the building. Bergen had just begun a feverous search for Burch when the gunfire intensified, causing him to stop and take cover. Bergen and Mahan rushed to the stairwell while Stites and Oldham maintained their positions in the D Block section of the gallery. The gun gallery in the D Block section had an “L” shaped curve that paralleled the south cellblock wall. This section provided an excellent frontal view of the cells and the activity of the inmates. Bergen and Mahan carefully positioned themselves in a low stance, and prepared to return fire into the ghostly haze of smoke. As the reserves fired off piston-like bursts of gunfire into the cellblock, the assault team quickly navigated the stairwell, hoping to locate and extricate Officer Burch. Suddenly and without warning, while Stites was slowly advancing along the south wall of the gun gallery, he was struck by a bullet and fatally wounded.
A diagram hand drawn by Lieutenant Phil Bergen, showing the key event locations.
Officer Donald Martin kept a detailed journal of assignments on Alcatraz, and would be one of the officers sent in to recover the fatally wounded Harold Stites from the West Gun Gallery. His personal journal notes describe the injuries suffered by officers and detail the escape events.
The interior of the Gun Gallery section inside of D Block. Visible at floor level is the window from which the fatal shot struck officer Harold Stites.
Unconscious and completely unresponsive to his surroundings, Stites was lying supine and motionless at the southwest corner of D Block, bleeding profusely from a flank wound. Bergen and Mahan heard Oldham yelling out that Stites was badly hit, and quickly came to his aid. They immediately recognized the severity of his wounds, and each officer grabbed a leg to drag him along the gallery to the stairwell. Oldham joined in to help them carry the wounded officer, and he was struck in the arm as he passed one of the gallery windows. Stites was dragged out to the catwalk, where he lay bleeding in full view