Cherokee Wave Helen Kluge, Narrowly Escapes Injury or Death
Because
a WAVES squad leader taking a group of women to lunch was late, a
Cherokee enlistee escaped death or serious injury in the great
ammunition explosion at Norfolk, VA. Naval air station last Friday, it
was disclosed here Tuesday afternoon.
Seaman Second Class Helen
Kluge, daughter of Alert Kluge of East Spruce Street wrote to her
father, “, I missed that so close that it kills me to think of it…”
She explained that she was in a group of WAVES marching in charge of a leader who was late that day and that’s what saved us.”
“We
just had started to march toward (a group of buildings in the blast
scene). When we got about a block from it, we saw a big could of smoke
and fire and then it exploded and everyone screamed,” S 2C Kluge
related, “It even knocked some of the girls to the ground. We felt some
of the pieces of glass andiron hit us. It broke almost every window in
the administration building and the nearby barracks. These buildings
were about a block away and there were some people killed in them by
the glass. Oh, I just can’t explain how terrible it was because I did
see the worst. There are about a dozen WAVES in the hospital and two
that are very seriously hurt and not expected to live.”
Girl Killed
“One
girl who was killed lived 10 minutes after they carried her out and
they said she was just screaming. I knew this girl very well and she
was a very nice girl. All the officers surely were thankful that us
girls hadn’t gotten any farther than we had because if we had, we would
probably all have been killed.
I guess it must have been the Good Lord protecting us. I’m almost scared to live here anymore.”
Miss
Kluge, who added in her letter she expects to arrive home about October
15, enclosed clippings from Norfolk, Virginian-Pilot, detailing the
great disaster and carrying pictures.
The account by the
Virginian-Pilot staff writer stated that 250 were hurt in addition to
the 24 announced dead in the biggest disaster at Norfolk since the
crash in 1922 of the Italian semidirigible, Roma.
Accidental
discharge of a train of depth bombs was unofficially believed to have
caused the explosion which caused the death of the first WAVE in
service.
The Associated Press account of the disaster was carried in Friday’s Daily Times.
Miss Kluge was one of the first WAVES to enlist from Cherokee county. She attended the Cherokee Radio school. (Source: Cherokee Daily Times, Thurs., Sep. 23, 1943, pg. 1)
WAVE Returns After Three Years Service
Helen
Kluge, WAVE, daughter of Albert Kluge, was honorably discharged from
naval service at Great Lakes, Ill., November 3 and arrived home Monday.
Her plans for the future are indefinite.
Miss Kluge had the rating
of Seaman first class, being stationed at Norfolk, VA., most of the
time but the last three months at Glenview, ILL. She has been in the
service for almost three years. (Source: Cherokee Daily Times, Nov 10, 1945, pg. 1)
WALTMAN – DAUGHTER
Mr.
and Mrs. R. M. Waltman of Chicago announce the birth of a daughter
Monday, Aug. 11, at the St. Francis hospital in Chicago. Mrs. Waltman
is the former Helen Kluge of Cherokee. Albert Kluge of Cherokee is the
grandfather of the baby girl. ((Source: Cherokee Daily Times and
Cherokee Chief, Sat., August 16, 1947, pg. 2)
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