FORT KNOX, Ky. — Dark clouds hung over First Baptist Church in Brandenburg, Kentucky April 3 as members of the community and leaders from Fort Knox filed into the sanctuary shortly before 4 p.m.
The ominous clouds provided an immediate reminder to everyone of a huge storm system that had moved through the area the day prior, spawning at least three tornados in and around Louisville and several others across Indiana and Kentucky. The clouds also reminded many about Kentucky’s worst tornado in recorded history – an F5 with winds reaching 225 mph that ripped across Meade County on April 3, 1974, destroying downtown Brandenburg and changing the way the nation tracks storms.
Gus Allen, a deacon at 1st Baptist Church, led the ceremony, calling for a moment of silence at 4:08 p.m., when the tornado touched down in Brandenburg, and then reading off the names of the 31 residents who died in the tornado. One of the dead was a church member who had stayed at the church that day when the tornado leveled it.
The pastor had left the church for 10 minutes to pick his wife up when the tornado hit.
“This is the only F5 tornado to ever hit Kentucky,” said Allen. “A little unknown fact: we had an earthquake that day of 4.5 … It was a maybe once-in-a-lifetime event.”
Brandenburg Mayor David Pace was a high school senior when the tornado hit the city. He said time stands still for those who lived through it.
“That was 18,250 days ago. That was 438,000 hours ago. That was 26,280,000 minutes,” said Pace. “We know exactly what we were doing five minutes before it and two weeks after, so it’ll never leave us.”
Meade County resident Shelly Trent said she and her family experienced the tornado’s destruction in three different locations that day.
As a 10-year-old girl, she witnessed it first appearing as two tornadoes near Guston, south of Brandenburg, where she and her family lived in a mobile home. She described getting off the bus at 3:35 p.m., after school was let out. Her bus driver was blown off the road and into a field shortly afterward, suffering severe injuries.
“It was sunny but breezy, but I had this feeling of terror,” said Trent. “I went inside, and I told my mother, ‘We need to go to my cousins’ house.’ They had a basement.”
As her mother drove her and her brother toward her cousins’ house in Ekron, she said the two twisters merged into the super tornado that struck Brandenburg’s downtown area, burying several people in the rubble. Brandenburg had a population of about 1,500 at that time.
Those who gathered at the church heard personal stories of loss and the overwhelming kindness of others. About 75 of those who rushed to the aid of Brandenburg that day were Soldiers from 514th Maintenance Company at Fort Knox. Bob Hoelle, who grew up and still lives near Cincinnati, Ohio, was among them.
Though he was unable to attend the Wednesday ceremony, he remembered vividly how the day transpired for the Soldiers from the company who helped search for Brandenburg residents in the aftermath of the storm.
By the time the company had mustered and then slowly made their way up to Brandenburg in military vehicles, the storm had hit about three hours prior. What stood out to him was the overwhelming kindness of residents who had lost everything.
“People were out walking around and were looking at the damage,” said Hoelle. “I remember the traffic was real slow going down the street, and people came up to our Jeep and offered us food.”
Hoelle said he was moved by their selfless acts of kindness.
“Those people had just experienced a great tragedy there and a great loss,” said Hoelle, “and here they were taking their time to come out and thank us for being there, but also making sure we had some of our needs met by sharing their food with us.”
Hoelle and a group of Soldiers secured the area while other Soldiers searched for the injured and dead within the ruins. A draftee, Hoelle said he was preparing to transition out of the Army when the tornado hit, and was awe struck by their hopefulness in the face of tragedy.
“Resilience would be a good word to use; that would be what I would think about the people of that community – how resilient they were,” said Hoelle.
At the ceremony, a graphic hung near those who spoke, with the word “Together” displayed. Allen said there were many losses that drew the community together that day.
“At the same time, there were many stories of heroism; of resilience among the people, and the town,” said Allen, “and many, many more stories of neighbors loving one another, and helping each other through the aftermath.
“To this day, you always pay attention when the skies get dark in Brandenburg.”
As residents left the church, they were greeted with sunshine and a cool breeze.
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