Evening star., 1941-07-05
Washington Girl Tells of Sinking of Steamer Moosdom
SEQ Was So Rough Some Of Libos From Toedoed Ship czed
Party Red Reaching London Reveals

Miss Ruth M. Martin, Washington
nurse who survived the torpedoing
OF the Dutch steamer Maasdam, told
an interviewer in London today that
the sea was so rough when the
MaaSdam went down that some of
the lifeboats loaded with passengers
capsized.
Miss Martin. whose sister, Mrs
Frank Hunt, 14l2 Chaplin street
NV, was overjoyed yesterday when
word reached here that the nurses
were safe, chatted briefly today with
Eddy Gilmore, Associated Press
foreign correspondent. who left
Washington for London a few
months ago.
The Navy Department announced
here that all II of the United States
Marine detachment who were on
the Maasdam are safe. Three
Marines Taylor G. COLON of Sum-
merland, Miss, Shelby o. Jones of
Franklinton, La. and Herman w.
Trail Of Twila, KY, had been un-
reported for several days.
When the torpedo struck Miss
Martin was in her cabin, she told
Mr.. Gilmore. You don't hear them,"
she said. You feel them"
I'VE had been told what to do if
an attack came. and everyone was
fairly calm. I don't know how long
it took the ship to sink. It's Just
one of those things you don't think
about when you're thinking of saw
ing your life
IL Nurses on Board.
Miss Martin was one of II Red
Cross nurses bound for England on
the steamer when she was sunk in
the North Atlantic recently. She
and eight other survivors reached
London yesterday. Six are known
TO be on another ship. The where
abouts of two still is unknown, but
DR.. John Gordon of the Red Gross
hospital unit said he believed they
had been picked up by a third ship
and were safe.
Several other nurses told Mr.. Gill
more of being spilled from their
lifeboatS Lavinia Fulton of Am
herst, Mass. said she got into the
first lifeboat to get away. The sea
was very heavy. though" she re-
lated. 1T capSiZed our leaky boat
l asked an officer what to do and he
told me to hang onto the side of
the boat. Although it was capsized.
it didn't sink. 1 was in the water
about an hour"
The nurses said the German sub
marine came up in the middle of a
convoy, although depth charges
were dropping around it at the time.
The sailors told us they saw the
submarine shoot, but We didn't see
it ourselves" said Shirley Ralph,
just out of Jamaica IN. " High
School.
Pinned to the Deck.
I'VE knew the submarine was
around US. We put on lifebelts and
to the depth charges ex-
ploding around our ship.
This kept up about an hour.
When 1 felt a sudden shock I knew
we were hit.
up went huge column of every
thing. Pieces of boat. Men. Clothes. |
Just everything.
Something hit me on the mead |
and knocked me on Geek. Then !
else fell on LIE. I was
pinned to the deck. It's a terrible |
feeling 10 be on a sinking ship and |
unable to move. But somebody got |
me free.
I'VE climbed into Lfeboats that |
were SWaying on the ropes and |
seemed to be whacking themselves |
to pieces on the side of the ship. |
There was heavy sea ana a stiff |
wind.
Il came on the trip for excite
ment. l certainly had it then"
Lillian Evans of Cambridge. Mass. |
said she was on the last lifeboat |
to leave.
Girls Swim to Another Ship.
The boat sank a short distance
from the MaaSdam. AS il began |
slipping away, she said, she asked |
an officer what to do.
Swim" he said.
Miss Evans said she and two |
others swan about 200 yards to
another ship, which was part of the
convoy.
Its a terrible sensation" she |
said, Ito be sitting there in a life
boat, feeling the water come first
to your knees, then to your waist,
then your shoulders. All the girls
had lifebelts on, so they couldn't
help swimming, although some /
barely knew how"
Mrs. Hunt said she still had re-
ceiyed no direct word from her sis
ter, but she planned to stay close
to home today in anticipation of a
message. Mrs. Hunt said the Red |
Cross here had kept in constant
touch with her and that an official
nad told her she might well expect
10 hear from Miss Martin today.
The group Of nurses, whose aver
age age is 25, belong TO the Harvard
unit of the American Red Cross.
They came from the District, New
York, Massachusetts, Illinois. Ne
oraSka, Minnesota and Maryland.
I,, po1, c..;I c.