Survivor remembers a hero: ‘I lived, and Justin did not’
For 18-year-old Joyce Mekelburg, Nov. 28, 1942, was just another Friday night at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, a popular nightspot where she and her boyfriend, Justin Morgan, would often go. As the city marked the 75th anniversary of the tragic blaze that claimed nearly 500 lives, Mekelburg — now 93 — recalled the moment she saw a busboy trying to change a lightbulb lighting a match — a move that fire officials believe sparked the deadly inferno:
The fire that started over where Justin and I were seated was the result of a busboy who tried to replace the bulb which had gone dark, and lit a match and the rest is history . ... Justin Morgan was a hero who sent me off to get my coat, now — JOYCE MEKELBURG Cocoanut Grove survivor, 93
an exercise in futility, and remained to put out the fire . ...
By the time I got up the stairs, the bodies of people trying to get out the door was unreal . ...
Crawling to the back door was also unreal. But I lived, and Justin did not . ... way to the exit, where two heroic sailors pulled her to safety. Not getting the names of her saviors, she said, is something she has always regretted. She said she believes she is the only survivor who witnessed the fateful mistake that started the blaze.
I cannot put it out of my mind that when Justin and I were together that evening, the evening that he died and I didn’t, because there is no way you can possibly know what is going to happen in the next five minutes, much less 15. Justin said to me, “Why don’t you leave, I’ll put out the fire . ... ”
I lived, he didn’t. Today, this group of people, I have to thank for (making) me feel as though just saying his name is enough of a tribute.
‘By the time I got up the stairs, the bodies of people trying to get out the door was unreal.’