Storm survivor

Louie Johnson, who survived the hurricane of 1943 on a 50-foot yacht, is shown at the Galveston yacht basin on Saturday. The hurricane, which made landfall July 27, 1943, killed 20 and caused $17 million in damage. The storm was kept secret from the public due to World War II and rumors of German U-boats lurking in the Gulf of Mexico, and its arrival surprised county residents.

Published July 27, 2003