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| prise aan ae tN Gh BPAY : a ad as a ry te bi FD-350 (4-3-62) &- he = (Mount Clipping in Space Below) ety, . jaa Priest Eye- Witness To Aftermath Of Bombing (Father William James, Diocesan Confra- fernity Director, here writes of what he wit- nessed and felt immediately after the bomb- ing of a Negro Baptist Church in Birming- ham last Sunday morning, Father James hap- , pened to be travelling just three blocks away when me pomp went on. He is a native of Birmingham.} “ Tt sounded like a score of supersonic jet " planes had simultaneously broken the sound barrier. People poured from their homes ta sean the sky. The almost deserted Sunday morning streets quickly became crowded with people still uncertain what had caused the deafening blast. I drove on for about a block until I saw a man pointing to what seemed to be a cloud of smoke, slowly rising fram a spot about 4 blocks away. Turning quickly I drove toward the area and parked my car. I began walking the short distance to an area now swarming with hun- - el [xj- 18 26 dreds of people frantically rushing to a street already mobbed with a swaying pushing crowd and a few policemen, some of whom wer¢ auxiliaries with steel helmets covering their heads, People, old and young, were erying. Some: seemed dazed and completely be bewildered. Oth- ers were cursing and shouting at an enemy who seemed to be face to face with them, Re- spectfully, most moved aside as F got closer to a rather large church, the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, from which people were stream ing and into which ambulance drivers and others were already going. About ten cars parked next to the side en- trance of the church iooked like they had been dragged there from a junk yard, One of them, seemingly blown out into the middle of the street. was a pitiful sight, Rocks and large stones and pieces of concrete were every- where. From a building across the street Jee = og ah, He Copies made by Kare for review by Rowe Task Force Date 1 >-\a [=e Rie ive of Sn Coo ~/ 7? a BtyY ana State.) Page 1 The Catholic Week Birmingham, Ala. Date: Edition: 9/20 /63 Author: Editor: Title: UNSUB; Bombing o 16th St. ppaptist Lett hatal A We haa ch, ali ena, rt Character; aac yet 503 G° MATTER MO 157-416 Classification: Submitting Office: Mobile