On July 31, 1945, at 10:40 a.m., the Army ferry pulled into the Alcatraz Wharf. Giles, wearing an Army Technical Sergeant's uniform that he had been able to steal while working in the laundry that was contracted to clean army uniforms, jumped aboard the boat through a freight hatchway below deck. As the boat pulled away, a count of the soldiers on board indicated one extra, and at the same time, a count of the Alcatraz dock workers indicated one missing convict. Assistant Warden E.J. Miller was notified, and he followed the Army boat in a small speedboat until it reached Fort McDowell on Angel Island. Alcatraz officials called ahead to Fort McDowell, instructing them to keep everyone on the boat. The boat captain took this to mean nobody was to disembark without a pass. Giles showed his pass and was allowed to exit the boat. (According to Alcatraz Warden Johnston, it should have been called a successful escape, but the Bureau of Prisons and the Attorney General classified it as an attempted escape.)
