Hamilton was the first to climb through the window, and he managed to maintain a grip on the remaining security bars while the other inmates passed out a wooden filling guide to be used as a ramp from the window to the barbed wired security fencing. After maneuvering the makeshift plank properly into place, Hamilton was passed a large rolled section of canvas to drape over the barbed-wired fencing. Boarman and Brest now stripped to their underwear and belts (which they planned to secure to the canisters to keep them afloat) and smeared their bodies with engine grease as insulation.
Boarman and Brest attempted to maneuver the float canisters through the window without success, so they were forced to leave them behind, along with the clothing they contained. One by one, the men climbed through the window, negotiated the wire fencing, and then hurried down to the rocky shore. Hunter had injured himself when dropping from the fence and he took refuge in a small island cave that was recessed under the industry buildings. The cave was dark and littered with discarded tires, and was flooded with varying levels of seawater depending on the tide levels. Boarman, Brest, and Hamilton each started their swim to freedom, partially obscured by the breaking fog.
Meanwhile Officer Weinhold had succeeded in loosening his gag, and started yelling for help, but due to the noise of the loud machinery in the Industries, his cries went unheard. At about the same time, Officer Frank L. Johnson, who was assigned to the tower atop the Model Shop, was attempting to reach Smith and had already contacted Cliff Fish in the Armory. Fish, who was just being relieved from duty, responded to the Industries to investigate the problem, accompanied by Phil Bergen and Earl Long. Officer Johnson stepped outside of the tower booth, and immediately spotted several figures in the water, swimming away from the island. Smith, while unable to undo his gag, was able to move his body against Weinhold, who then managed to maneuver Smith’s whistle into his mouth. Weinhold started frantically blowing the shrill whistle, which was clearly audible from Johnson’s post.
Lifting his rifle, Johnson strained to peer into the target site as several faint figures continued to advance away from the island in the foggy seascape. Watching the figures move in rhythm with the sea, he drew his grip tight, and squeezed the trigger until the pressure of the spring gave way to a ragging shot. He repeated the process, sighting each moving figure, then firing his Springfield .30-06. Each round released a caustic smell of burnt gunpowder mixed with the misty salt air. Brest and Boarman saw the geyser-like splash patterns in the water around them, accompanied by the distant sharp cracking sound of a high-powered rifle. After each round was fired, silence would drape the water until the next blast racked the air. As Brest and Boarman swam almost side-by-side a few hundred yards from shore, the sounds of Boarman’s thrashing suddenly stopped. As Brest reached out to examine the now silent form of his fellow inmate, the water surrounding them started to turn an eerie red.
Boarman’s eyes were open, but glazed over by the seawater as Brest tried to maintain his grip on his accomplice’s limp body. Boarman was bleeding profusely from what appeared to be a bullet wound behind his left ear. The Prison Launch McDowell pulled alongside the two inmates, with Officer Sutter aiming his muzzle at Brest’s head. Brest struggled to hang on to Boarman’s belt, but as the officers attempted to latch it with a boat hook, the belt broke, and Boarman slowly disappeared into the green murky depths. Brest was pulled into the launch and wrapped in blankets, then returned to the island. He was immediately taken to the prison hospital and examined. He had sustained only a minor bullet wound to his elbow.
“Little Alcatraz” is seen just beyond the buoy.
Hamilton had been able to swim to “Little Alcatraz” using the large wood plank as a float, but when he heard the bullets whizzing past his head he tried to keep himself submerged for as long as he could hold his breath. He apparently clung to the small rocks of “Little Alcatraz,” and then swam back towards the island, lifting his head out of the water only long enough to take a deep breath. Hamilton made his way back into the island cave where Hunter was hiding. Warden Johnston had already assembled a team of three officers to explore the rocky shoreline in an attempt to locate the stranded inmates. Associate Warden Ed Miller walked the island perimeter, while a boat with a powerful spotlight covered the officers from the water. Standing near the mouth of the cave, Miller noticed a blood smear on one of the rocks. He yelled into the small cavern, demanding that any hiding inmates surrender or be fired upon. When he received no response, he decided to fire a round from his colt .45 pistol into the dark void. Fred Hunter, who was hiding behind some tires and nearly neck deep in water, immediately raised his arms to surrender. Unknown to Miller, Hamilton was still in hiding under several tires.
Officer Johnson had reported back to the Warden that he had fired upon at least three inmates and that Hamilton had probably met his death, as Boarman had. The prison launch patrolled the waters around the island for hours, but when there was no sign of Hamilton, Johnston started to feel confident that the inmate had perished in the downpour of gunfire alongside his accomplice. He was so convinced of this that he released a statement to the press reading in part: “Hamilton is dead. He was shot, and we saw him go under.”
Hamilton would remain in hiding until April 16 thbarricaded far back into the cave area. After several days in hiding and many close calls where he was nearly discovered by officers searching inside the cave entrance, freezing and hungry, he decided to seek shelter in the old Electric Shop. Captain Weinhold, who had returned to reexamine the scene of the escape, found Hamilton curled in a fetal position, weak from hunger and exposure. He was admitted to the prison hospital and treated for a multitude of injuries. Hamilton was then moved into the D Block segregation unit, and would remain there until September 1, 1945. Hunter would be released back into general prison population on January 22, 1945. Brest remained in D Block segregation until May 21, 1944.
A letter to the Warden from Harold Brest, asking that he be transferred from Alcatraz.
Hamilton was released from Alcatraz in August of 1952, and was sent back to Leavenworth. He was eventually set free, and returned to Dallas on July 2, 1958. While at Leavenworth, he had enrolled in Otto Lang’s religious training program, designed to help participants become mentors for other inmates. Following his release he started an organization named ConAid, which was eventually credited with assisting over 1,200 inmates. On December 23, 1966, Hamilton received a full Presidential Pardon from Texas native President Lyndon B. Johnson. Hamilton died of natural causes in 1984, at his home in Dallas, Texas. During a lecture he gave on the anniversary of his Alcatraz escape in 1961, when asked what he had learned from his escapades in crime, he stated simply: ...“Happiness comes from within; not from without. Crime always leads to prison, and prison is a void of living bodies in a state of death. Lucky for me, Alcatraz became my birth place and not my grave.”
A closing note on the jacket of Boarman’s inmate file.
ESCAPE ATTEMPT #8
Date:
August 7, 1943
Inmates:
Huron Ted Walters
Location:
Prison Laundry
In August of 1943, Alcatraz was suffering from personnel shortages as a result of the War efforts. The prison industries were overwhelmed with the sheer volume of military clothing being delivered for laundering, and there were barely enough officers to cover the critical posts. Many of the officers assigned to the industries were required to alternate their rounds, sometimes leaving certain posts unattended for brief periods. These circumstances would be contributing factors in a Saturday morning escape attempt by Huron Ted Walters.