Photos: Valdez after the 1964 earthquake

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The town of Valdez, Alaska, was destroyed by a tsunami after the March 27, 1964 great Alaska earthquake.

The day was March 27, Good Friday, a day off from school. It was not windy, snowing or raining, so people were out visiting and shopping. The Steamship Chena had arrived that morning, where many of the men worked as longshoremen, unloading the groceries and freight for Valdez and Fairbanks. All of the goods were off loaded on pallets and delivered to stores. This was a summer fishing town. In the winter, the fathers took every available job to make ends meet.

At the post office I ran into Billy. We were in Boy Scouts. Billy needed to finish one more training session to become a First-Class scout. I helped him with the compass course he needed. The streets in our town were laid out north-to-south, so it was an easy lesson. After a while, Billy's dad came by and they went off to do some work.

As Billy left with his dad, I caught up with Dennis and Stanley walking toward the dock where the Chena was tied up. In those days, when the ship came in, everyone went down to the dock.

In school the older boys bragged about the "goodies" they received from the ships. This was exciting to me. I was younger and always looking for an adventure. So when I saw the older boys, I tagged along. As boys 12 to 15 we went off to see the steamship; watching the town's dads offload the cargo. The older boys had been on the docks before and knew how to find favor with the galley crew. We wandered on and off the ship taking in the busy activity. They also knew that two was company and three was a crowd. With me, they played the game of hide and go seek. This turned out to be "Ditch Danny." So I decided to go home. Other friends passed me, walking toward the dock, as I left.

Read more: 1964 Alaska earthquake looms large in memories of Valdez childhood