356. Pensacolian Disappears in Bermuda Triangle 1918

Updated: Mar 23, 2022

Few mysteries in history stirs the imagination than those surrounding the Bermuda Triangle. Books, movies, and documentaries abound with theories including outer space aliens, rogue tidal waves, undersea monsters, and magnetic fields gone astray. But yet, it has never been solved to everyone's satisfaction. But yet, once again a Pensacolian was present in one of the most infamous disappearances within the triangle's midst.

William "Willie" "Red" Touart was born in April 1898 in Pensacola, Florida but records about his parents have not been forthcoming. But ironically, most of the Touart's of Pensacola were all concentrated in the South Florida Blanca and East Intendencia area where Willie lived. As Willie approached manhood, he was found living at 235 East Intendencia Street even with so many Touart's living in the immediate vicinity. This could be because both of his parents were dead and there may have been an affiliation with the Braswell family. This address was the home of Mrs. Irene Dunkin Braswell (1869-1952), the widow of Andrew J. who died in 1908. Upon his death she had seven young children to support but fortunately, her husband had been successful as the proprietor of the Braswell Transfer & Heavy Hauling Company.

But what we do know, is that Willie Touart had a run in with the law in 1915 and was sentenced as a juvenile to one year reform school and given the choice of an alternative sentence of six months in the county jail. Sentenced to a harsher sentence was an apparent co-defendant Mike Braswell with no relation found to his landlady's family. Regardless, the young man made a good name for himself in Pensacola and had even worked in the composing rooms for the News Journal. But Europe was now embroiled in WWI, and many Americans knew it was only a matter of time before we would be heading there ourselves. As the dawn of 1917 approached, many of Willie's friends had already enlisted in the Navy. And as young men do, they would visit Willie in their spiffy uniforms, which definitely left an impression on the young man! Urged on by his buddies, Willie decided to follow their lead and join the ranks!

He went down to the Navy's Pensacola recruitment office and enlisted in the Navy on December 19, 1916. He was assigned to the receiving ship (for training and orientation) in Norfolk, VA from April 6 to August 24, 1917. He was then transferred to the collier USS Cyclops. Willie and his shipmates put to sea on February 16, 1918 from Rio de Janeiro and anchored off Salvador four days later. Two days after that, they embarked for Baltimore, Maryland, with no stops scheduled and carrying a load of manganese ore used to produce munitions. They made an unscheduled stop in Barbados because of concerns the hip was overloaded. When all was inspected and cleared, she set sail for Baltimore on March 4th and was never seen again! In all, 306 crewman and passengers just vanished without a trace. One theory was that since America was in the middle of World War I by that time, perhaps she had been sunk by an enemy submarine. But no such confirmation ever surfaced during or after the war. No wreckage, no bodies and no debris were ever found. As such, Pensacolian Willie Touart was officially pronounced dead on June 14, 1918.

Of all the hundreds of theories about the disappearance of the ship and its crew, the most plausible explanation does not involve spaceships and aliens. Instead, it centers around the structural design of the Cyclops itself. To further the theory, you need not look any further than her sister ship, the USS Proteus. The Proteus was sold to a Canadian company in 1941 on November 23rd of that year she and her entire crew of 58 plus her cargo of bauxite ore vanished without a trace. And of course, she disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle as well. Her other sister ship, the USS Jupiter was converted into America's first aircraft carrier and renamed the USS Langley thus escaping the fate of her two sisters. But, another similar collier was the USS Nereus that was sold to a Canadian company as well. She also vanished on December 10, 1941 without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle. She too was carrying a cargo of bauxite ore, which we know is much denser than coal. Thus, perhaps the structural design versus the nature of the cargo had more to do with their demise than space creatures. Unless, of course, space aliens are fanatically attracted to bauxite or manganese ore!

In the meantime, Willie's landlady, Irene Braswell never remarried and would continue living at 235 E. Intendencia Street until her death in 1952 and subsequent burial in St. Michael's Cemetery.