-Lord Byron
On May 11, 1953,
One of the Deadliest Tornadoes
in United States history
Descended on Downtown Waco
and shook the soul of a community.
This Commemorative
honors the memory of 114 people
who died in that storm,
and celebrates the spirit
of the community that
survived.
The reverse has a list of the 114 people killed, and says:
We honor 114 people killed
in the Waco Tornado.
Their souls belong to Heaven;
Their memories belong to us.
The base is inscribed with:
The Teardrop Memorial is our gift to honor the Citizens of Waco
--The Joe H. Phipps Family
Wikipedia has some statistics about the
tornado:
114 deaths, with 597 injured and up to $41.2 million in property damage. 196 businesses and factories were destroyed, 217 sustained major damage, and 179 sustained lesser damages. 150 homes were destroyed, 250 sustained major damage, and 450 sustained lesser damages. Over 2000 cars were damaged or destroyed and the First United Methodist Church was severely damaged. Over half the dead - 61 - were in a single city block bounded by 4th and 5th streets and Austin and Franklin avenues. This tornado tied the 1902 Goliad tornado for the deadliest in Texas and 10th deadliest in the United States.
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