Elder Frank Badger and Elder Gardner's survival of a store shooting

During the chaos of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the ensuing fires, Elder Leo L. Gardner and Elder Frank Badger, part of a group of five Pacific-bound missionaries, sought refuge and food in a grocery store. As flames approached, a picket of soldiers appeared and began firing directly into the store. Elder Gardner witnessed the man standing next to him fall, shot dead, while the missionaries were forced to march out at gunpoint. Elder Gardner was compelled to leave his grip behind to survive. In addition to this incident, Gardner reported that he and six other elders were stopped by a police officer who held them at gunpoint and forced them into a basement to clear debris and search for victims. Amid the city-wide destruction, the elders found that their hotel room was remarkably the only one in the building to remain intact. Throughout the disaster, they faced severe thirst, lack of sleep, and the constant threat of martial law as they navigated the ruins of the city alongside other Latter-day Saint refugees.