Evening star., 1943-06-11
Relief Official
Recalls Taking
Bombing Photos
Mrs, s.,Naiden Here
In Interests of
Aid to French
Bp Gretchen Smith

Her work with the Red Cross in
France during the first World War
provided valuable training for Mrs
Mary Maiden, executive secretary for
the Co-ordinating Council of French
Relief Societies, now in Washing
ton on business from the council S
headquarters in New York.
Her experiences in France Is years
ago have helped through many try
ing moments, she declares, the most
difficult being the bombing of Hick-
dent hostess at the Army Air Sta
ton when Pearl Harbor was at
tackled, she recalled, in an inter
view at the Statler Hotel.
Il was awakened by terrific
noise" she said. Looking out Of
the window I saw planes circling
overhead They had red circles on
the wings and I knew they were
Japs and that war had come"
Instead of diving under a bed
or looking for shelter, Mrs. Maiden
went outside with her Leica camera
and snapped six pictures of the Japs
In action.
Il got picture of the bombs
bursting on Hickam, she said, and
one of smoke rising from Battle
ship Row in Pearl Harbor."
AS she returned to her bungalow
after taking the pictures, Mrs. Mai
den said stream of machine bull
lets crashed into her bedroom, strlk-
ing the walls and the bed.
The pictures were subsequently
purchased and published by the As
sociated Press.
Within a few minutes after the
attack, Mrs. Maiden added, her quar-
ters had become a shelter for -four
women, four children and two dogs
She paio high tribute to the young
women, wives of officers rushed sud-
denly into battle. who, she declared,
accepted the situation calmly and
without hySteria.
The women at Hickam Field
we're really wonderful she COM
mented. Not one showed fear and
not tear was she'd There were
no complaints and everyone was
willing to help For weeks after
the bombing, the officers wives
were nursing at the hospital, besides
doing chores and washing dishes"
Mrs. Maiden remained in Hawaii
until the spring Of 1912, when she
returned to the States, believing she
would have greater opportunity for
the war work in which she was
particularly nterested-French re-
lief She had gone to France dur
ing the first World War. shortly
after her graduation from Smith
College, she explained, and became
deeply attached to the French peo-
pie while serving with them in Red
Cross work Several times in the
past 20 years she has lived in France
for long periods, forming many
friendships.
L have felt particularly sorry for
the French prisoners of war in
Germany" she explained. There
are over 100000 of them and, un-
like the English and American pris-
oners there is nothing sent them
from their own country. 1t is ter
rlble to think of the conditions un-
der which they live. The organiza-
tion with which I am connected,
headed by Miss Anne Morgan, is
now concentrating on sending them
parcels of food
The speaker explained how ID
different societies have merged in
order to pool their resources.
Before the occupation, We were
able to send in food to the children"
she continued Nov there is no
way to help those living in France.
but we still can get through our
parcels to the prisoners in Ger
many
officials of the Co-ordinating
Council of French Relief Societies
already are making plans for the
united appeal for French relief to
be launched this fall, according to
Mrs. Maiden.
While her mission here is pri-
marily for the purpose of confer
ring on matters of French relief, she
has taken the opportunity also of
remembering her friends of Pearl
Harbor Gays Bringing with her
the words for a song, which she
composed in Hawaii by flashlight
shortly after burial of the Pearl
Harbor victims, she has arranged
for Mrs. Stuart Godfrey of this city
to write the music
The song, It's Up to You" car
rles a message to each American to
bear his share in preserving nation
al freedom and liberty by action,
not merely words