Virtual Commemoration of the Texas City Disaster 73 years later Tuesday (4/16/2020) marks the 73rd anniversary of a massive ship explosion that set off a cascade of death and destruction in Texas City in what became known as the Texas City Disaster of April 16, 1947. Almost every year since the city has held a memorial at 9 AM to commemorate the event that shaped the city and to this day reverberates with many who survived the massive explosions. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 commem

Mary Parker was only four or five years old when the Texas City Disaster happened. When she talks about that day, she remembers bits and pieces -- like flashes of red in the sky, the stove in her home being flipped over, and the feeling of seeing people running everywhere she looked. Specifically, she recalls her mom running, gathering as many of the kids in the neighborhood as she could and helping them get to safety. Days after the explosion, her mother was combing Mary's hair and discovered a