The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-12-09
HE'S IRISH
HE'S IRISH That's Why His Isn't A Hopeless Case

whom he might never see. He was turning over and over.
 He began clawing for his rip cord but it seemed to him he was tangled some way. Yet he must have pulled the cord for the tumbling ceased and T1erney felt himself floating.
 His chute had opened.
 Light-heartedly he began to take inventory. His boots had been blown of and his heated slippers were half of. His left foot dripped blood. His left arm was in bent position. As he unbent his arm, blood spurted out so he bent it again and held it tightly to his side.
 Terney says there was scarcely any wind and he went down almost straight. Small pieces of plane fell past him.
 At about 2,000 feet, he saw num- Der of people running around in a field below. At about 700 feet he saw the tail of broken plane on the ground and thought he saw markings of his own group on it.
 "A queer, rushing sensation came over me and the first thing knew I had hit in a cornf1eld," said Tier ney. Peasant and soldiers ran to where I lay and stood looking at me.
 T lay there looking back at them for while, then started to get out of my chute harness. One fellow, talking Rumanian, came over and began to help men. He got me loose and cut some of my clothes of, at my direction. Then they all moved in and helped bandage my wounds"
 The peasants rolled up a cart, carefully placed Tierney on it and pulled the cart by hand to small, church-like building about quar- ter of a mile away. Several peas- ants gave him drinks of cold water and cups of ersatz coffee on the way.
 A Rumanian medical officer and a Rumanian nurse, who spoke English, arrived shortly and gave .Tierney an anti-tetannuS injection and washed his wounds in a hydrogen-peroxide solution. The doctor removed 8 piece of flax from Tierney'S body.
 Tierney was taken to 8 little hos pital at Puchen4i, IA hlometers out- side Bucharest.
 He was put in a comfortable bed and that night was on the operating table. He woke up in a room with nine other American flyers.
 For the next few days, he was running a high fever and the medi- cal officers suspected there was aIl- other piece of flax hidden in his body. American bombing had knocked out the electrical system so no X-ray could be taken. One day puS from one of the wounds was seen to have pieces of Tierneys heated flax suit in 1t. Another op- eration was performed and another large piece of flax removed.
 It was bad enough that both of Tierney's hips. his left foot and arm were fractured and that he had multiple flax wounds of the arms and legs, but in addition. he ac- quired a severe case of septicemia-- Q serious infection.
 Although he was given the best of care, his condition became stead. fly worse and it was thought he had only . few days to live.
 It. Col. John Fagarasano, the Rumanian doctor attenting Tierney, had learned through medical papers Of new drug (penicillin developed and used by Americans, said to Do capable Of almost magic properties.
 If this drug could be obtained - but Rumanla was co war with Alner- ica. American bases were hundreds Of miles away and T1erney was only one American in Q remote hospital ln enemy territory.
 Even when Riimania eapltulated Auatist 2D, iofl, TleEney's pFospoctr nee|ned 10 bottoF, Tiefney Nng lech. nlnnllv freed. bat numenla Was ln q afai6 Gk ohaes annnlans N4re I'sIt'Me ENz . |1l I11'I.