[2] Morrison and engineer Charlie Nehlsen[3] had been assigned by station WLS in Chicago to cover the arrival of the Hindenburg in New Jersey for delayed broadcast.

[4] At the time, radio network policy forbade the use of any recorded material other than that used for sound effects, and Morrison and Nehlsen had no facilities for live broadcast.

This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed.Morrison and Nehlsen continued their work, reporting at length on the rescue efforts and interviewing survivors, with several pauses while Morrison composed himself.

The 16-inch green lacquer disk recordings were rushed back to Chicago by airplane and broadcast in full later that night.

Morrison's quick professional response and accurate description combined with his own emotional reaction have made the recordings a classic of audio history.

[6] Audio historian Michael Biel, formerly of Morehead State University, who studied the original recordings and analyzed Nehlsen's vital contribution as an engineer as well as the playback speed issue has said: I have closely examined the original discs and photographed the grooves at the point of the explosion.

Then almost immediately there is a faint groove for about two revolutions while Charlie Nehlsen gently lowered the cutting head back to the disc.

The digs and the bouncing off of the cutting head were caused by the shock wave of the explosion which reached the machine just after Morrison said "It burst into flames..." I and several others believe that the originals were recorded slightly slow, and that all replays have been at too fast a speed.

[6][7]Morrison's description has been dubbed onto the newsreel film of the crash, giving the impression of a modern television-style broadcast.

The availability of newsreel films, photographs and Morrison's description was a result of heavy promotion of the arrival by the Zeppelin Company, making the crash a media event and raising its importance far beyond other disasters, less well-reported and documented.

Morrison's usual broadcast work was as an announcer on live musical programs, but his earlier successful reporting of Midwestern floods from an airplane led to his assignment at Lakehurst that day.

Morrison later served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and was the first news director at WTAE-TV, the ABC television affiliate in Pittsburgh.

Before his retirement he served as a technical adviser for the 1975 film The Hindenburg and developed a radio and television section at West Virginia University.