New Britain herald., 1925-09-03
SHENANDOAH FALLS
 APART IN AIR
(Contlnued From First Page)

the local American Legion post sent out guard of honor and the vet erans stood watch over the room in which the bodies were taken.
 Due to the early hour at which the accident occurred there were few If any who witnessed the breaking up Of the great craft. Alarm first was taken when the ship, reported over Wheeling at 1:45 a. m., was not seen over points further westw ward on her course. Desperate efforts were made to locate, her, but 10 no avail and the last word known to have come from her crew was a cryptic radio message picked up by the wireless operator at Fort Hayes, Columbus, which said only q am losing my seat"
 Shortly afterwards word was re- ceivcd here that portion of the dirigibe had crashed near Ava. News of the disaster was flashed to news paper offices in Columbus and soon every wire leading into isolated com munity was busy with calls for those seeking details of the disaster.
 For some time it was Impossible to learn where the other portion or portions of the craft had descended. Then word finally came from Sharon, 1n or more miles south Of Ava, that another section had crashed there. after drifting aimlossly for miles in the storm which broke the ship asunder,
 Those who reached the scene first faced mass of vrecksge and an unknown number of dead and injured. Frantic calls brought res cue workers, but 1t was hours be- fore it wal possible 10 gauge ac- curately the lose of life.
 Rosendahl's Story
 Lieutenant Commander F. F, Ro. sendah gave the following account of the Shenandoah wreck and his thrilling escape to the Associated Press correspondent.
 Commander Rosendah hl said:
 "I went on duty at 3;30 a, rn., 10 relieve Lieut.. Commander Hancock who was navigating the ship. We were on line headed west between Bycsville and Cambridge. Weather conditions were bad. There was lightning and squalls. Although we had all engines going. we could make no ground speed. The storm crcpt upon HIS from thc northwest, We tried to turn south. Then the line squnll hit us. It lifted us from an altitude of @.5Oo to 4.500 feet where we righted the ship for few min utes, only 10 bo taken up again for an altitude of 1000 feet.
 "The vertical air current was so strong that 1t carried the ship heavenward In spite of an IS decrees inclination of the nose of the ship"
 'We released hclium through the hand valve expecting this to check the ascension. We had dropped overheard all water and I had started from the control of the ship to tho keel in an effort to throw overheard fuel.
 At this moment there was a crash. l heard the struts breaking and saw inc nose of the ship part ing from the control partment. A second later 1 heard another crash, which must have been the control ship hitting the ground. II vas in this compartment that Com rander lansdoNne and the others were killed
 "The nose of the ship started across country at about 25 miles an hour speed brushing trees and a house or a barn. We handled the nose as if 1t were fren balloon and landed safely at Sharon, 12 miles from thc place where the con trop ship dropped.
 "McCarthy was forward in the rose and was injured when he was | knocked overheard.
 lOSH WI II llIf III tl'' Jloot pI hIl' ship were Colonel C. G. Hall, T.. & army observer: Lieutenant W. G. Mayer, Lieutenant I. E. Anderson ! Chief HIachirists Mate Halliburton | Chief Machinifts Mate Shoyottiv and J. r. Mccarthy aviator 10 chief rigEcr.'
 In the weird, half-light Of the carly morning storm, with angry clouds hanging in the heavens, rent intermittently by forks of lightning 1 the families of $. o. Davis and Frank Nelson, farmers living near Ava. watched the death struggle be- tween the elements and the giant