Sanguine Tenacious Tidings

January 9, 1964 Panama

When I think about my life so far, I would have to say the most frightened I've ever been was the day..

Panama Canal Crisis 1964
On January 9,1964, grievances between native Panamanians and “Zonians”, or Americans residing within the U.S.-controlled Canal Zone, boiled over into a series of anti-American riots which resulted in an evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Panama City, widespread looting, and dozens of deaths.Google

I was living in an apartment building with my husband and 10 month old son. My husband was an airman and was called in morning early hours to return to the base.

After he left my landlady appeared at our apartment door and told me the situation was dire. She hid us in a trailer on her property along with an army Sgt. and his wife. After a 3 day wait the violent crowds were suspicious of her, thinking, that she was hiding USA military. She was able to reach government Guadia National, who arrived with an armored car and escorted us
out of the trailer into the armored car pointing machine guns at the crowd, that was deathly silent and very threatening.

At the time, our automobile, the landlady's automobiles, and other cars from the neighborhood were removed from the property and burned in the street by screaming hostile crowds of young boys and men.

I have written this before in my blog so it isn't new. It will always be one of the most startling memories of first hand violence I have.