By Maj. William Carraway
Historian, Georgia Army National Guard
The operations center of the 122nd Infantry Regiment in the town square of Gainesville, Ga. April 7, 1936. Photo by Kenneth Rogers. Atlanta Constitution. |
On April 6,
1936, residents of Gainesville, Ga. were just arriving to work on the Monday
morning before Easter Sunday when two
tornadoes shattered the downtown area killing more than 200 and injuring 1,600.
More than 85 years later, The Gainesville Tornado remains the fifth deadliest in
United States history.[1]
Within 90 minutes of the storm impact, Soldiers of the Georgia National Guard's Atlanta-based 122nd Infantry Regiment were ordered to report to their home
armories. Companies A, B, C, E and F were
dispatched north to Gainesville to assist civil authorities. Upon their arrival
the Soldiers beheld a scene of complete destruction. Entire blocks of brick
buildings had been torn to pieces by the wind splintering telephone poles and
hurling vehicles. With the streets clogged with debris, the Soldiers had to
clear their way to the town square where they set up a base of operations.[2]
The headquarters tents of the 122nd Infantry Regiment stood in sharp
contrast to the wrecked surroundings which included the Gainesville City Hall
and the Hall County Courthouse, both destroyed by the tornado.[3]
The Georgia National Guard joined a response effort comprised of local, state and federal agencies. In addition to the Red Cross, representatives from the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps and Salvation Army swelled the ranks of responders who rushed to aid the people of Gainesville. President Roosevelt visited Gainesville April 9, met with responders and addressed a crowd of 2,000 citizens expressing condolences and promising federal aid.
With the
town’s water supply contaminated by debris, the Soldiers were pressed into
service distributing food and water. Additional Guardsmen, trucked water into
the city in converted oil tanks.
By April 7,
more than 200 residents remained missing. The Red Cross opened a missing
person’s bureau to assist families. Two local churches were pressed into
service as make-shift morgues housing nearly 50 dead while rescuers desperately
searched debris for survivors.
Georgia National Guard Soldiers of the 122nd Infantry Regiment patrol the streets of Gainesville, Ga. just days after the city was struck by a tornado April 6, 1936. Georgia National Guard Archives. |
[1]
“The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes.” National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration. https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html
[2]
“Gainesville Tornado of 1936 killed 165; Former Guardsmen of 122nd
Infantry Recall the Disaster.” The Georgia Guardsman. March-June 1961,
6.
[3]
Austin Eller. “Remembering the Gainesville tornadoes of 1936.” Access WDUN. https://accesswdun.com/article/2021/4/994788/remembering-the-gainesville-tornadoes-of-1936
[4]
“Gainesville Tornado of 1936 killed 165; Former Guardsmen of 122nd
Infantry Recall the Disaster.” The Georgia Guardsman. March-June 1961,
7.
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