The Child Army of San Pedro

January 7, 1947
San Pedro

Police have arrested eight youngsters on charges of burglary related to the brazen theft of weaponry from the Fort McArthur armory. The boys sawed through a lock and entered the building where returning troops’ weapons were stored, making off with a veritable arsenal of a dozen automatic pistols, four carbines plus jungle knives, bayonets and ammo.

The thieves were discovered when they returned to the area to dig up their plunder, which they had hidden for later pick up.

Published by

Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

One thought on “The Child Army of San Pedro”

  1. Same Coffee Cup
    Used 27 Years

    WHITTIER, Jan. 6—Truman B. Carl, a city employee, today rounded out 27 consecutive years of coffee drinking from the same oversized china cup.

    The cup, which has a capacity of one and one-half ordinary cups, was given to Carl by a friend more than a quarter of a century ago and he has used it regularly ever since.

    Carl, who handles the cup with extraordinary care, said he dropped it 10 years ago and broke off the handle. It also has accumulated a chip or two in the years. However, he continued to use the cup for his daily coffee drinking as he considers it just the right size.

    Now 66, Carl came to California 21 years ago from Maine, and has been employed in jobs in the city administration for that time. He lives at 402 W. Orange Drive.

    Three-bullet items:

    Officers Jacob Ball and E.L. Gardiner are acquitted of killing William Jay Throgmartin on Dec. 28, 1946, when he yelled “Go ahead and shoot!â€Â as he ran from them after a high-speed car chase that began at Washington and Alameda… Judge Walter S. Gates frees war hero John H. McVeigh, who was charged with robbing a bookie who owed his father $594. “A man who collects money due him cannot be convicted of robbery,â€Â the judge says… Film studio worker Paul Wadsworth Kittrelle is arrested as the “nude burglar,â€Â who was undressing before he burglarized 12 houses on the Westside…Denver movie projectionist Homer H. Thomas dies during a showing of “Nobody Lives Foreverâ€Ââ€¦ War Emergency Police Officer Elford L. Thomas is convicted of beating disabled war veteran John Davis with a blackjack and gun butt at 5th Street and Main. Davis was afraid Thomas was trying to kidnap him when he ordered him to get into the back seat of his unmarked police car without identifying himself as an officer… The U.S. Supreme Court rejects an appeal of Louise Peete’s death sentence in the murder of Margaret R. Logan.

    Favorite trade name: Electra City, Heating and Ventilating Co., 7001 Hollywood Blvd.

    Bonus factoid: The family of William Heirens, convicted of killing Suzanne Degnan in Chicago, changes their name to Hill.

    Second bonus factoid: There are 14 Filipino men in Los Angeles for every Filipino woman.

    Third factoid: Truman Berry Carl died April 5, 1947.

    Quote of the day: “Let’s nobody be no heroes.â€Â
    One of three gunmen who held up the Mocambo, 8588 Sunset Blvd., getting $2,736.73 ($25,900.92 USD 2005) in cash and $4,917.10 ($46,536.35 USD 2005) in jewelry.

    https://www.lmharnisch.com

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