Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa
1965 Armory Explosion

Gen Disasters __ Events That Touched Our Ancestors' Lives
http://www3.gendisasters.com/iowa/2408/keokuk%2C-ia-national-guard-armory-explosion-fire%2C-nov-1965

Please go here to read newspaper coverage of this tragic event.  It is very graphic and some may not want to read it.
Sally  12/2007

KEOKUK (AP) – Here is a list of those injured in the Thanksgiving eve explosion and fire here:
At Graham hospital:
ROBERT ANDERSON, Keokuk.
DONALD BIGELOW, Keokuk.
MRS. DONALD JUANITA BIGELOW, Keokuk.
ABE BECKETT, Argyle, transferred to Mercy hospital, Burlington. 
MRS. ABE (VIOLET) BECKETT, Argyle, transferred to Mercy hospital, Burlington. 
LEONARD BRYANT, Keokuk.
RICHARD DAVIS, Keokuk.
MRS. RICHARD (MARGARET) DAVIS, Keokuk. 
ANN ERLANDSEN, Keokuk.
RUBY FOLEY, Keokuk.
CARL GOODRICH, Carthage, Ill. 
DON HOANBRACKER, rural Keokuk.
MRS. DON (SUSAN) HOANBRACKER, Keokuk. 
JAY JOY, Keokuk.
MRS. JAY (LUCRETIA) JOY, Keokuk.
LEO MAY, Keokuk, transferred to Mercy hospital, Burlington.
IVAN PILKINGTON, Nauvoo, Ill.
MRS. IVAN (VERA) PILKINGTON, Nauvoo, Ill.
HERMAN SMITH, Keokuk.
MRS. HERMAN (JOAN) SMITH, Keokuk.
MARGARET SELF, Sandusky, Iowa.
RICKY THOMPSON, Keokuk.  Died
DORIS THOMPSON, Keokuk.
DR. WILLIAM VANCE, Keokuk.
MRS. WILLIAM (MARTHA) VANCE, Keokuk.
NOLA BENNETT, Keokuk, transferred to St. Mary's hospital, Quincy, Ill.
WALTON SELF, Keokuk.
LOUIS BESSER, Keokuk, transferred to Burlington Mercy hospital.
Taken to St. Joseph's hospital:
RANDY THOMPSON, 12, Keokuk, transferred to University hospitals, Iowa City.
TONY BENNETT, 6, Keokuk, transferred to University hospitals, Iowa City. 
VIRGINIA NIXON, Hamilton, Ill.
FRANCIS DAVID, Hamilton, Ill.
CHARLES COOVERT, Keokuk.
RICHARD BELLSHAW, Carthage, Ill.
LUCILLE BELLSHAW, Carthage, Ill.
DAVID JOY, 4, Keokuk.
CHESTER STARR, Keokuk.
GERALDINE STARR, Keokuk, transferred to University hospitals, Iowa City. 
RAY SUMMERS, Keokuk.
JOHN FOLEY, Keokuk.
CINDY GOODRICH, 7, Carthage, Ill., transferred to Memorial hospital, Carthage, Ill. 
ROBERT HARNETIAUX.
MRS. ROBERT HARNETIAUX.
MRS. RUTH ANDERSON.
RICHARD THOMPSON.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette Iowa 1965-11-25
Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler.

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Dead

BILL BENNETT, an employee of an automotive rubber manufacturer, and his son, TONY, 6. TONY was taken from the wreckage alive but died soon after he was flown to Iowa City.
MRS. LOUIS BESSER, sister-in-law of KENNETH HENKE, JR., who will become Keokuk's mayor Jan. 3.
MRS. LEONARD BRYANT, a housewife.
ALICE SUMMERS, whose husband, RAY, was among the injured. He works for an electric company.
MRS. MAY and MRS. GOODRICH were so badly burned identification could not be made until mid-afternoon.

CARL GOODRICH of Carthage, Ill, who died early today at University Hospital in Iowa City, and MRS. MARGUERITE DAVIS of Keokuk who died Friday night in Graham Hospital here.
The name of the third victim was withheld.

Xenia Daily Gazette Ohio 1965-11-27
Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler.

Transcriber note “According to the Daily Gate City Keokuk Iowa 1965-11-27 ... The third person who died from burns was MRS. GERALDINE STARR, of Keokuk”
Transcriber note “The final number of fatalities from the explosion in the armory I have found listed as both 20 and 21.”
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Here is the final list of injured and dead

The Daily Gate City
Friday, Dec. 31, 1965
By Joe Malkin

National Guard Explosion Keokuk's greatest tragedy

The explosion that ripped apart the Keokuk National Guard Armory on Nov. 24, 1965, killing 21 persons and injuring scores of others, went down in history as the biggest story of the year in Iowa; but to the people in the Keokuk area, this is no solace for the grief and loss of their loved ones, and for the years ahead to be faced by those whose scars are more than superficial.


12 in Hospital

As 1965 draws to a close, 12 of more than 60 victims of that fatal explosion which occurred during a Thanksgiving eve square dance at the armory, remained in hospitals. Three of them are in Graham hospital.

They are Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thompson of Keokuk and Mrs. John Foley of Keokuk. John Foley is at University Hospitals in Iowa City.

At St. Joseph hospital, there are still two victims of the blast, Chester Starr and Ray Summers, both of Keokuk. Mrs. Nola Bennett is still hospitalized at St. Mary's hospital in Quincy.


Five in Texas

Five persons are still hospitalized at Brooke General hospital in San Antonio, Texas. They are Don Hoambrecker, Robert Anderson, Jay Joy, Richard Davis and Herman Smith, all of Keokuk.


The death list

Here is a list of those who died as a result of injuries or burns in the explosion:
Mrs. Ray Summers, Rt. 2, Keokuk, Nov. 24
Bill Bennett, Keokuk, Nov. 24
Mrs. Louis Besser, Keokuk, Nov. 24
Mrs. Leonard Bryant, Rt. 2, Keokuk, Nov. 24
Mrs. Leo May, Keokuk, Nov. 24
Mrs. Carl Goodrich, Carthage, Nov. 24
Tony Bennett, 6, Keokuk, Nov. 25
Mrs. Richard Davis, Keokuk, Nov. 26
Carl Goodrich, Carthage, Nov. 27
Mrs. Chester Starr, Keokuk, Nov. 27
Mrs. Ray Beckett, Argyle, Nov. 28
Leo May, Keokuk, Nov. 30
Mrs. Don Hoambrecker, Keokuk, Dec. 1
Ray Beckett, Argyle, Dec. 2
Randall Thompson, 12, Keokuk, Dec. 3
Mrs. Robert Anderson, Keokuk, Dec. 3
Mrs. Ivan Pilkington, Nauvoo, Dec. 6
Mrs. Jay Joy, Keokuk, Dec. 10
Louis Besser, Keokuk, Dec. 13
Mrs. Robert Harnetiaux, Hamilton, Dec. 20
Mrs. Herman Smith, Keokuk, Dec. 20

Compiled by Sally Youngquist