The American Red Cross was enlisted to assist the families as they were slowly evacuated from the island.
Johnston quickly put together a planning conference with Associate Warden Miller and a few of the lieutenants. The group started a painstaking review of all the available officer counts, and all of the status updates from Officers Virgil Cochenour and John Mullen, who had been monitoring the activities in the cellhouse from their positions in the East End Gallery. Isaak Faulk, who was normally in charge of the tower officers, had set up headquarters with Officer Fish in the Armory. Lieutenant George Boatman offered his assistance in rescuing the captive officers, and started designating support assignments to those just arriving. Ike Faulk was already aware that at least one of his tower officers had been injured, and with Boatman’s assistance, he devised a plan for the Federal agents to provide cover while the prison officers climbed the towers to rescue their comrades. Hill Tower Officer Besk was found lying on the floor, and was quickly given first aid, having lost a large amount of blood.
Lieutenant Isaak Faulk
Lieutenant George Boatman
Warden Johnston’s Secretary, Walter Bertrand
With several vessels from the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the San Francisco Police now patrolling the waters, word was spreading that something very bad was unfolding on Alcatraz, so Johnston broke the twelve-year silence and decided to make a formal public announcement about the current events. Johnston and his Secretary, Walter Bertrand, stood in the Armory and started delivering the solemn news to the world. The first Teletype messages were sent to BOP Director James Bennett, the... B.I., and finally to Western Union, which would communicate the grave news to all of the press associations in the following telegram:
Serious Trouble... Convict has machine gun in cellhouse... Have issued riot call... Placed armed guards at strategic locations... Many of our officers are imprisoned in the cellhouse... Cannot tell extent of injuries suffered by our officers or amount of damage done... Will give you more information later in the day when we can control... J.A. Johnston, Warden, Alcatraz.
Formal planning was then initiated to discuss the rescue of the captive officers. Warden Johnston assigned Lieutenants Phil Bergen and Frank Johnson to organize and lead the assault team. There were few updates coming from the officers now posted in the East Gallery, who reported only that there was virtually no activity on the cellhouse floor. The island’s residents had started to take cover, and most had barricaded themselves inside their apartments. There were several others who secured themselves in the air-raid shelter, which had been established during World War II following the Japanese bombing raid on Pearl Harbor. Mutual aid plans had been initiated, and eleven correctional officers from McNeil and five from Leavenworth were boarding planes to San Francisco. Johnston had arranged to have them flown to Hamilton Field, and from there they were quickly driven to Sausalito and then transferred to Alcatraz by what the Warden termed as “crash boats. ” Many of those who volunteered to come to San Francisco had worked on the island, and were familiar with the landscape and the posts.
As the Warden and the other men carefully worked through the formal anti-escape procedure manual, Bergen and Johnson chose their men and started plotting their entry into the West Gun Gallery. The situation quickly grew tense, as the East Gallery officers started firing shots at the silhouette of an inmate who was running across the floor with a rifle. As the sun started to set on the prison, Bergen and fellow officer Harry Cochrane met with Associate Warden Miller, pleading to be allowed to enter the cellhouse and begin the rescue of their fellow officers. Miller had been instructed by Johnston to refrain from entering the cellhouse until more reinforcements arrived. But Bergen was ready, and he firmly stated that if the hostages were still alive; they would be waiting for them to make a move. Bergen and Cochrane were assigned the dangerous task of securing a ladder to the side of the cellhouse, so that they could report on any activity that was not visible to the officers in the East End Gallery. As Bergen ascended the ladder he carefully peered into the building, but could see only a dense haze of tear gas. No inmates were visible, and the cellhouse seemed abandoned. Bergen and Cochrane reported to Associate Warden Miller with this update.
Officers are seen here peering through the main cellblock portholes, attempting to observe the activities of the rioters.
At approximately 3:30 p.m. the first detachment of marines arrived from Treasure Island. They were equipped with a full arsenal of weaponry and they started manning the yard wall and assisting Alcatraz officers at various other posts. Bergen and Cochrane were summoned to the Associate Warden’s office and informed that once all of the marines had received assignments and reported to their posts, they would enter the cellhouse to rescue their fellow officers. There was, however, one change in plan. Johnston felt that it would be a better strategy to gain control of the West End Gallery first, and to have armed officers cover the team that entered the main floor of the prison. It was agreed that once Bergen and his armed assault team had taken control of the West Gallery they would be relieved by reserves, and then they would immediately enter the main cellhouse to perform the rescue.
Bergen, however, strongly voiced his opposition to this plan. He reasoned that his team could easily enter the main cellhouse using armed force, and quickly bring out the hostages. Bergen was adamant about not wasting time and following Johnston’s orders, he decided to assemble his team and have them briefed on the West Gallery entry plan. Bergen and his men made a quick stopover at the Armory, and then made their way to the catwalk outside of D Block. The men advanced along the catwalk in strict formation, crouching down as they quickly moved into position at the gallery entrance. There were eight officers lined up along the catwalk. Phil Bergen, Harry Cochrane, and Harold P. Stites would be the first to enter the gallery. Stites carried a solid reputation among his peers, and he had bravely put an end to the 1938 escape attempt by inmates Thomas E. Limerick, Rufus “Whitey” Franklin, and James Lucas.
The other men in the assault team were assigned to their stations, and it was planned that they would hold the West Gallery once Bergen, Stites, and Cochrane had completed the rescue of Officer Bert Burch. It was still unclear whether they would be recovering his corpse or rescuing him alive, since no one knew his true fate. The reserves were mostly seasoned officers. The remaining group was comprised of Lieutenant Frank Johnson, and Officers Alvin Bloomquest, Fred Mahan, Herschel R. Oldham, Fred J. Richberger, and Joe Maxell, who had made the first attempt at entering the gallery with Stites, but had been forced to retreat.
While the guards crouched at the entrance, Bergen made a final review of the plan, and then on cue he carefully swung open the door just enough to allow them passage. As they entered the building they remained cautiously silent, while searching for any visible movement on the cellhouse floor. The interior was mysteriously quiet, and masked with an eerie haze of smoke that clouded the air. The acrid smell of teargas slightly irritated their eyes as they tried to adjust to the dim lighting. As they searched the cellhouse for any sign of the hostages and the escapees, they could see little except broken glass littering the floors, and several of the cells standing open with no movement inside. Bergen and Cochrane advanced steadily to the middle of the gallery, stopping at the stairwell that led up to the middle level. Stites covered the entrance area, and scanned for any sign of movement.