It's just after 9 a.m. on April 16, 1947, a.m. a. a Texas City, a deep water port on the Gulf

coast. Police officer Bill Reeves steps out of his cruiser, sets his cap on his head, and covers his mouth with his hand.

Thick, orange smirk pours from the hold of a cargo ship a few hundred yards away, while firefighters douse its decks with water.

Officer Reeves isn't here to help fight the blaze, though. His job is to keep a growing crowd of bystanders from

getting in the way. Two more fire department trucks approach, and Reeves tries to hold people

back to let them through. But then, without warning, an enormous explosion rocks the port.

Reeves' world momentarily goes black, and when he comes to blinking mud and dust from his

eyes, he isn't by his car anymore. He's lying on his back in some kind of drainage ditch. But he

doesn't understand how he got here. Oily water cascades into the ditch. He tries to move, but his arms

and legs don't respond. He can't

seem to save himself, and within seconds the water is up to his waist and his chest. He tries to

shout, but no words come from his mouth. Now the water's up to his neck, and he fears he's going to

drown. But then two blackened faces look over the edge of the ditch.

Hands reach down and sees Reeves' jacket, pulling him out.

He looks around, confused.

He's hundreds of feet away from where he was just a few moments ago,

and the ship that was on fire has completely disappeared.

Officer Bill Reeves is lucky to be alive. The explosion on the French cargo ship Grand

Camp has killed hundreds of other people, and thousands more are injured. It's already the

worst industrial accident in American history,

but the destruction on the Gulf Coast is not over yet.

Another ship in the harbor has caught fire

...