On April 16, 1947, a French cargo ship carrying 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in Texas City harbor, near Galveston. Another explosion followed on April 17. Close to 600 people died or were never found. According to the reports, about 800 went to the hospital and 3,500 were injured within a mile of the explosion center. Husband and wife doctors Virginia and Truman G. Blocker Jr. wrote the reports. They lamented that better medical records weren’t available, including from hospitals. Even so, in articles published in the 1940s and 1950s, the Blockers summarized the injuries and deaths. Both Blockers were doctors at UTMB.