September 1979 – Hurricane Frederic had just smashed Pensacola Beach. The next day Lance Moss and I took an aluminum jon boat from Gulf Breeze across Santa Rosa Sound to the beach so we could check the damage. Once we arrived we realized the beach was being patrolled by police and National Guard vehicles. I think we were the only civilians on the island, which means we had to run from house to house, hide, look for vehicles, then run to the next house – until we crossed the island over to the gulf.
This photo shows Lance at what was the entrance to Ft. Pickens. The fish eye lens shows more curve than there actually was, but it was a brick wall with welcome signs. They did not rebuild it.