Union City Tornado 50th Anniversary

I was a young teacher at Union City, Oklahoma in late May of 1973.  At 5:12 pm the town was struck by a very strong tornado.  Two people were killed and there was great property damage. 

To the east of town, the tornado hit the home of the Ninman family and destroyed it.  They sought shelter by driving their car into a trench silo as their only protection.  The tornado pulled the car, with four occupants, out of the silo and slung it across the pasture.  

Larry Ninman, was almost 16 when the tornado almost killed him and his family.  He was one of my students and went on to a 40 year career in coaching, teaching and high school administration.  Larry gives his memories of the storm and miraculous survival from a direct hit by one of the most famous tornadoes in history.