New Britain herald., 1918-05-31
GERMAN AIR SWARM
 ATTACKS HOSPITALS American Nurses Heroic As Bombs Descend in Deluge
 CHEER WOUNDED PATIENTS
Enemy Aviators Approach in Masses and Penetrate Far Behind Lines French Nurse, Mother and Two Lit tie Sisters Slain.

With the American Army in France, May 30, (By the Associated Press)- German airmen made a pretentious raid on the area behind the American lines in Picardy last night Bombs were dropped on all sides of one of the largest hospitals in town many miles to the rear of the front Amer 1can and French wounded soldiers were carried to cellars and caves by American nurses and members of the Red Cross.
 Only a few persons were injured by flying glass as most of the windows in the hospital had been shattered by bombs dropped the previous night. Several private houses were wrecked and a number of civilians, including several babies, were killed and in jured.
 Approach in Wave Formation. That the raid was planned on a much larger scale than recent ones over this territory is evidenced from reports made by many Americans in villages over which the raiders pass ed The Germans came in wave for nation and then scattered widely. One squadron dropped bombs a few hundred feet from an American field hospital and at the same time one of the long range guns shelled a village a few hundred yards away The first alarm was sounded at II o'clock. The dropping of bombs and ! firing of many anti aircraft guns be- gan almost imm ediately. Later there was a brief pause after which the 1 raiders returned to remain almost un- 1 til dawn.
 A new American evacuation hospi- | tai had been opened only yesterday l in a certain village. A bomb fell in front of 1t last night and shattered
 windows, but none of the patients l was injured
 l In some instances the bombs fell 1 within 30 and 40 feet of a hospital | building, but, fortunately there were no direct hits. A French nurse, her | mother and two little sisters were l killed in a house a short distance ] from a hospital. Another nurse was
 standing on the upper floor of the
 hospital ministering to patients when 1 a piece of bomb struck her, piercing l her lung.
 i Nurses Cheer Patients. l Five American nurses were in the same hospital. They were Miss Nat
 allie Scott of New Orleans, Miss Hel- l en Spalding of Bro oklyn, Miss Mary i McCadlish of Atlanta, Miss Blanch 1 Gilbert of Cleveland, and Miss Con- 1 stance Cook of San Francisco. ! While the raid was in progress they went about cheering the pa tients. Although many serious cases 1 of sick and wounded were aggravated l because they had to be removed, the l nurses had to carry them to the low
 CT floors and the cellar.
 "It was an exciting time,' said Miss
 Scott, "but there was no panic. Some | of our boys actually slept through 1t I all although their beds were show
 cred with broken glass; l Bombs Wreck A1nbuIances. l Three American ambulances were 1 caught in the raid. Sergeant Ethan 1 Wells of San Francisco, who was dr1V- l ing the first ambulance, said: Our | three ambulances were hurrying to 1 hospitals with patients when bomb l wrecked building directly in front l of us in a narrow street Our ambu- 1 lance was perforated by flying m1s- ] siles. We were all hurled out, put l escaped with a few scratches. l Private Robert A. Bowman of Gal l weston, who was in the same car' salo' l "1'here was u terrific explosion The l next thing I knew l was lying on the ! ground | looked around and heard tho patients grooming. l pulled my l self together and found the patients uniniured except for the shock. Our ambulance was shot to pieces.' l The second car apparently received
 
 M.