Ward

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Moses Ward, 41, who was known as Birdie Africa when he survived the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia, died last Friday aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean, officials said.

Ward was found unconscious in a hot tub on the Carnival Dream, said Craig Engelson, an investigator for the Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida. The death appeared to be an accidental drowning, he said, but a toxicology screening will take about six weeks.

Ward’s father, Andino, said Wednesday that he and his son were vacationing with relatives.

“It was a family cruise,” Ward said. “It was my 30th wedding anniversary and his sister’s 10th anniversary, and her in-laws’ 50th anniversary. So all of the kids treated us to an anniversary cruise.”

He said the ship had made stops in Mexico, Belize and the Dominican Republic.

Ward said his son had been living in the suburbs. He declined to name the town or describe his son’s most recent occupation.

The funeral will be private, he said, making it clear that the family remains reticent because of the events of May 13, 1985 — as were others directly or indirectly touched by the tragedy.

On that evening, after a daylong armed confrontation with members of the radical group MOVE, police dropped a satchel containing a bomb made of the plastic military explosive C-4 and the commercial product Tovex TR-2 on the group’s fortified rowhouse in west Philadelphia.

The explosion sparked a blaze that city officials allowed to burn. When the fire was out, 61 homes were destroyed and 11 people, including five children, were dead.

Ward was the only child to survive the bombing, and Ramona Africa the only adult. His mother, Rhonda Africa, was among those killed.

Ramona Africa said she was saddened to learn of his death.

“We are just so sorry to hear about that,” she said. “The only thing I can say is that if he was still with MOVE and hadn’t been snatched from MOVE, he would not have drowned on no cruise ship. We don’t go on cruise ships. It just shows you how protective MOVE’s belief is. John Africa taught us that it is dangerous to be out in a body of water like that.”

Retired police officer James Berghaier, who helped rescue the boy, told CBS3-TV that the news of Ward’s death was upsetting to him.

“He has been through a lot. It’s a shame and he is at peace now,” Berghaier said.

The image of an undersized, nearly naked, severely burned 13-year-old Birdie Africa being carried to safety as the MOVE home and the rest of the Osage Avenue block burned has remained an iconic image for nearly 30 years.

The calamitous event left the teen with lifelong scars on his abdomen, arms and face, and Philadelphia with the ignominious reputation as the city that had bombed its own people.

Ward had no contact with MOVE from then on.

He married and had a daughter and a son before divorcing in 2005.

Ward, who described himself as a Christian who eschewed organized religion, said that despite his successes, his life had been difficult.

“The thing that helps me is I have a drive to better myself,” he said.