Commemorating the 1950 South Amboy Munitions Explosion

By Joe Bayona—

SOUTH AMBOY – Late in the evening of Friday May19, 1950 at approximately 7:26 p.m., a horrendous explosion rocked the town of South Amboy. The explosion that killed 31 and injured more than 350, could be felt up to 30 miles away.

The explosion happened when 450 tons of military grade explosives including land mines, anti-tank mines and gelatin dynamite simultaneously detonated. The explosives were being loaded onto barges from rail cars, and then transferred to a waiting steamship, “The Flying Clipper,” in the “explosive anchorage” in Raritan Bay for shipment to Pakistan. This was one of the worst disasters in the area, second only to the 1918 explosion at the T.A. Gillespie Munitions plant in Morgan. To this day the cause of both explosions is unknown.

On Saturday, the Historical Society of South Amboy dedicated a commemorative plaque overlooking the site across the inlet which was pier 4 of the Pennsylvania Railroad also known as the “powder pier”. The plaque is a gift to the citizens of South Amboy from the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Approximately 70 citizens and dignitaries gathered under cloudy skies and light drizzle for the unveiling of the plaque.

Mary Szaro, president of the historical society, greeted the crowd and introduced some of the dignitaries.

Jerry Pizzillo who chaired the committee, and is also the retired police chief of South Amboy and former Marine, gave a brief history of the events of that infamous day in 1950.

Mayor Fred Henry, who is also a history teacher, “painted a picture” for the crowd of how it must have been on that day in 1950. How WWII had ended just 5 years before and how the cold war was in its infancy. How we had entered the atomic age and the first thing people saw when they looked outside after the blast was a mushroom cloud over the city. Mayor Henry also pointed out that the weather that day was overcast with light drizzle “much like the conditions today”.

There was a special guest speaker invited to speak at the ceremony. His name is Al Rinn. Mr. Rinn, a former Marine and a veteran of WWII, lost 2 brothers and 3 cousins in the blast.

There is an interesting side note to this story. In the audience was another man, his name is Harold Dennen. Mr. Dennen, who happened to be riding on a fire truck down Broadway when the blast occurred, was in the Navy and is also a veteran of WWII. After meeting for the first time and talking for a while they found that they were both at the invasion of Okinawa on April 1st 1944 which was both Easter Sunday and April Fool’s day. This event was truly full of history.

To mark the end of the ceremony Mr. Rinn, Mr. Dennen, and Mayor Henry walked to the water’s edge to throw a wreath in the water to honor those who lost their lives that infamous day in 1950.

To Mr. Rinn and Mr. Dennen, I would just like to say, Thank You for your service.

Mary Szaro, Mayor Henry, and Jerry Pizzillo unveil the plaque