From the “Half Moon Bay Review,” 1945
“Explosion and subsequent fire on a navy crash boat anchored near the Princeton wharf Friday seriously burned two navy personnel and threatened the lives of two others.
“Walter Hall received second degree burns about his head and body. He was taken to the Montara navy station hospital.
“Force of the explosion blew George Duffy, seaman, first class, literally out of his shoes, tore his uniform to shreds, and pitched him some 12 feet to the forward part of the ship.
“Names of the other two crew members who rescued the unconscious Hall from a flaming pool of gasoline and Duffy from the forward part of the ship could not be learned. These two crew members used fire extinguishers to put out the blaze and then placed their wounded companions in a rowboat, rushing them to shore and into an ambulance summoned by the coast guard stationed nearby.
“An accumulation of leaking gasoline in the engine room caused the explosion.”