Evening star., 1941-07-01
Navy Awaits Details
OF Ship Sinking With
Marines on Board
II American Nurses
Reported Sofe; Six
Already Reach Port
NV the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press.
With the fate of two marines
seemingly in doubt, the Navy sought
a complete report today from the
British Admiralty on the torpedoing
of vessel bearing a detachment of
marines and Red Cross nurses to
England for wartime service.
All the Red Cross nurses were
known to be safe but the Navy, in
confirming earlier reports of the
sinking yesterday, failed to indicate
whether all the marine personnel
had been accounted for.
The Navy announcement, which
mentioned no loss of life, said yes
terday that a marine major ard
seven enlisted men had been res
cued. The first report of the sink
ing obtained Sunday from an au-
thoritative source. had it that the
marine detachment on the ship
numbered 10, with a major in COM
mand. This source said at the time
that one marine was missing.
Six Nurses Reach Port.
Red Cross headquarters here said
that six of the II American nurses
on board the torpedoed ship had al
ready reached land safely and that
the other II were believed to be on
ships which rescued other survivors
The nurses, two of them known
here, were en- route to England to
serve on the staff of the new Red
Cross-Harvard Hospital there. The
marines had been assigned to duty
at the United States Embassy in
London to assist in handling COM
munications and to do f1re-preven-
ton work
Neither the Navy nor State De-
partments disclosed any details on
the ships sinking or its identity
The initial disclosure said the ship
was a Dutch vessel now in British
service and gave its name as the
Maarsden.
Maj Walter Irvine Jordan, who
was commanding officer of the ma
rine detachment en- route to Lon
don. and who was rescued after the
sinking of the steamer, is native
of Norfolk and resident of Virginia
Beach. His brother, Arthur S. Jor-
dan, lives here.
Major Landed. Wife Says.
At Virginia Beach the major S
wife said yesterday that she had
been informed officially that he had
been landed, but there was no in
dication whether the port was in
England or in some other country.
Among the Red Cross contingent
believed to have been picked up by
rescue vessels which nave not made
detailed reports as yet, Red Cross
headquarters here said, were Miss
Ruth M. Martin. 2760 Devonshire
place NV, and Mrs. Ruth B
Breckenridge of winston Salem, N
c.. formerly of Washington.
Miss Martin, 29, volunteered sew
eral weeks ago to work on the COM
municable diseases research project
being carried out in England by the
Red Cross and Harvard University
Her sister. Mrs. Frank Hunt, 1412
Chaplin street NV, said: I'VE are
praying that she is safe"
Coming to Washington IS years
ago from Plattsburg, N. Y. Miss
Martin was graduated from the
Maryland Park High School in
suburban Maryland Park. She
trained as nurse at Emergency Hos
ptal, graduating in 1925.
Friends here recalled that Mrs
Breckenridge was prominent in
Washington society several years
ago. She was divorced in 1925
from Col, Henry Breckenridge. one
time Assistant Secretary of Wal
and later attorney for Charles A
Lindbergh. Mrs. Breckenridge was
assigned as house mother to the
nurses at the Red Cross-Harvarc
Hospital in England.