Joseph Dutch Bowers (December 13, 1896 â April 27, 1936) was the first man to attempt an escape from Alcatraz prison.oseph Bowers was by all accounts a desperado and loner, unable to come to terms with the conditions of Alcatraz.
However, the National Archives notes with some relief that millions of documents were lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) before the fire occurred, so at least those military records werenât destroyed. How VA Uses The 1973 Fire As An Excuse. An issue that comes up â much too frequently â is VAâs claim that a Veteranâs records were destroyed in the 1973 NPRC fire. VA Regional Offices often deny benefits claims by explaining â[t]hey could not obtain the records, and ...
The speaker was Bryan McGraw, Director of the National Archives at St. Louis. When he mentioned the fire of July 1973, there was an audible gasp. Yet, in the professional genealogy services world, thereâs always a gasp when the fire at the St. Louis Branch of the National Archives is discussed. Knowing that so many military records have been lost forever. That fire burned over 75 percent of the military records from after 1911 that had been housed on the top floor of that collection. For the genealogy world and especially for those genealogists who might be seeking World War I and World War II records, the fire of July 1973 was a true disaster.