‘Oh, the Humanity!’ a Broadcaster Cries

Here is an excerpt from the eyewitness account of the Hindenburg disaster by Herbert Morrison, reporting for Chicago radio station WLS from Lakehurst, N.J., on May 6, 1937.

It’s practically standing still now. They’ve dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship, and it’s been taken ahold of down on the field by a number of men. It’s starting to rain again. The rain had slacked up a little bit.

The back motors of the ship are just holding it, uh, just enough to keep it from--

It’s burst into flame! Yes, it’s started. Yes, it’s started.

It’s fire, and it’s crashing! It’s crashing terrible. Oh my, get out of the way, please.

It’s burning, bursting into flames, and it’s falling on the mooring mast.

And all the folks . . . this is terrible. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the world.

Oh, flames going, oh, four- to five-hundred feet in the sky.

And it’s a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen.

The smoke and the flames now, and the frame is crashing down into the ground, not quite to the mooring mast.

Oh, the humanity!