Unearthing the lost stories of Mount St. Helens | Oregon Field Guide (full episode)

The legend of Harry's cave will live on forever and that is truly fitting of the man

My Great Grandpa was best Friends with Harry Truman. He used to tell me stories of going fishing with him, and they would go mushroom & berry hunting up on St. Helens when my grandpa was a kid so my Great Grandma could make blackberry pie. Harry was my grandpa's first guitar teacher also, Harry was actually trying to teach my Great grandma but she would get so frustrated and put the guitar down. One day my grandpa picked it up and just started playing, so Harry taught him to play and gave him his first steel guitar. I actually have that guitar, my grandpa left it to me when he passed. When I was 10, we went to MT and brought back pictures for my Great Grandpa and also brought a few with us to give to the museum.

I was 16. Dad woke me up in the morning saying the volcano was erupting and he had hot soup ready in a thermos. We went up to Mt. Sylvania and everyone there was out in the streets watching it. A huge black ash cloud just boiling up and lightening in it every few seconds... I've seen a number of documentaries over the years but this one really captured the story.

I lost my classmate Andy Carr to Mt St Helen’s, Him his Brother and Father all died from the blast. I believe we were in 5th grade.

That was great folks ,thank you for sharing the stories..I was 33yrs old when it happened , but remember it like yesterday..

This landscape before the Eruption must have been of unbelievable beauty, as I see on this old photos.

I've walked those same grounds. I have a very personal connection to David. God bless him, and I applaud him for both his bravery and sacrifice. He was a great man. Never forgotten.

Rest in peace Harry Truman and David Johnston and to the others who did not survive MT.St Helen's you are not forgotten

What they thought was the engine from Jerry Martin's RV is a supercharger from a 6-71 Detroit diesel engine, most likely from a piece of heavy logging equipment. or possibly a log hauling semi truck.

Fascinating story! RIP to all the dear souls who lost their lives there. Watching from England UK. 💙🇬🇧💙

Thinking Harry could have made it to a cave within seconds is... well... you know.

There was something about the way that Scott was describing his 5 year old self on that day that brought to mind the same experiences that others have described after major events. Like 9/11, the assassination of JFK, the deaths of Elvis, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, hurricane Katrina, the 2011 Japan Tsunami. Things like that. It's fascinating to me to hear stories from this personal perspective long past the events themselves. We are so lucky that we have had the technology to visually record these events as they happened. Like this video. Telling the real and personal stories. Well done little documentary. I do hope Scott has invested in a pair of actual hiking boots over his sneakers! Go Scott!!

Nicely done, brought back a ton of memories!

I really liked this documentary. Real stories of real people. I especially value the compassionate approach to Harry Truman and his decision not to leave.

I was working in the ER in Longview on May 18. The Injured and burned were brought to us first. It was quite an experience.

More Mt. St. Helens, please! The science behind current monitoring efforts and research would be great!

I lived in Valley Forge,PA. when she erupted. We had ash laying on the car from that Incredible how far the wind carried the ash.

That poor man...losing his friend. I just want to hug him. I remember that day.

I was at work at the airport in Port Angeles WA that morning. We heard and felt a dull thud. I went outside to see what had bumped into the building. When I came back in, the gate agent was hanging up the phone. It was the mountain. One of our airplanes was taking off from Seattle headed south when the mountain blew. He and his passengers had a front-row seat. A few hours later, I was flying one of the 14 airplanes circling the flood crest down the Toutle River. I had a geologist and a couple of reporters aboard. I was too busy watching traffic to see much of what was below, but it's an event I'll never forget.

That piece of buried 'RV' that may have evidenced Mr Martin's area I recognized as an engine from some diesel bulldozer or similar earthmoving equipment. The part that was visible is the supercharger (a 'Roots' type of engine feature like that found on WWII airplanes), commonly found on a 4 cylinder diesel engine. As an 18 yr old, and a motorhead just out of HS, my job had me employed around big cranes and such which had identical superchargers, or 'blowers' as they are known. Was Mr Martin engaged in such 'road maintenance? A few yrs later, while in college, my part time night shift job crew began hearing reports of the eruption of St Helen's. We were in shock, to say the least. So sad for those lives lost. But this is a fitting tribute to those lost on that fateful day. Very cool that you are able share this search with viewers. Thanks for this excellent post OPB! Idaho viewer.