The last pathetic voice was that of a shortwave operator, breaking through from some outpost. 2X2L calling CQ, New York … isn't there anyone on the air? … isn't there anyone on the air?… isn't there anyone …? At about this time, Davidson Taylor was called away from the studio. The telephone began ringing. When Taylor returned, Houseman recalled, his face was ashen. The panic had begun in New Jersey and spread north and west. Men staggered into bars babbling about the end of the world. Bartenders tuned in just in time to hear Kenny Delmar-playing the "Secretary of the Interior" but sounding enough like Roosevelt to chill their marrow-putting faith in God and the armed forces in this national catastrophe. In Newark, traffic ran wild through the streets. People wrapped their faces in wet towels and roared past puzzled traffic cops in their haste to get out of town. One Newark hospital treated 20 people for shock.
( John Dunning )
[ On the Air: The Encyclopedia ]
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