Evening star., 1945-01-05
Actress Who Aided u. S. Flyers
Flee France Arrives Here
Mrs. Tortiere Plans
To Tell Bond Rallies
Of War Experiences

An American actress who had
been widowed by the Vichy French
arrived in Washington today to tell
War Bond rallies how she helped
spirit Allied flyers out of Occupied
Europe.
The nervous strain and hard work
OF caring for six Canadian and
American flyers hiding in her home
had reduced Mrs. Drue Leyton
Tartiere from 1T to 100 pounds
when Gen. Patton's tanks rolled into
Barbizon last August.
But what a day that was," ex-
claimed Mrs. Tartiere. "We1l never
forget the 23d of August. I had
spent most of the previous night
washing and ironing the uniforms
of my boys.
Corks Popped in Welcome.
when the first Yankee jeep hit
town plenty of corks began to pop
and when the tanks rolled into town
we all were out, the boys in their
Canadian and American uniforms,
and the girls in their finest clothes"
Mrs. Tartiere, native of Kenosha, !,
Wish, and former film actress in
Hollywood, England and France, was
little more than jump ahead of a
firing squad during most of the Ger
man occupation of France.
Her tensest moments came last
July when Allied air armadas were
swarming over France to blast a
pathway for the advancing troops.
Many Allied airmen parachuted
from crippled planes in the fields
and forests around Barbizon. But
the underground, after long prac-
tice, was functioning smoothly.
A neighbor hurried into Mrs.
Tartiere's home to say a "big red
headed airman" was in an apple |
tree behind her home.
Mrs. Tartiere grabbed up a mar
ket basket, donned a cloak and
strolled over.
For Heavens sake, where are
you?' called the flyer.
Mrs. Tartiere said it was okay to
come down, and led the flyer to |
her home. She had only gotten
him into the bathroom, and was
hiding his uniform, when a peas
ant woman arrived out of breath to
say she had found a beautiful
youth" under nearby haystack
while cutting grass for her rabbits.
The American woman wrote
note saying. Stay put, We'll come
for you soon" Just then a villager
arrived in an open car to say two
wounded aviators had parachuted
into forest in the vicinity.
Mrs. Tartiere, she told reporters in
an interview here today, climbed
INTO the car with some extra cloth
ing, and they drove to the place in
the forest. Both flyers had been
badly burned, one had broken leg
and the others lower lip was hang
ng open from deep laceration.
Wounded Don't Bat Eye.
They threw trench coats over the
pair and helped them into the car.
A German guard stopped them while
they were returning.
Neither of the wounded boys bat
ted an eye," Mrs. Tartiere said. She
did not mention the fact they would
have been prisoners of war, while
their rescuers would have been shot
or sent to Germany not to return.
Il pretended I was alighting to |
open the car for inspection" Mrs.
Tartiere said, land the guard waved
me on" /
The American woman stitched up
the youths lip with sewing thread
and helped set his companions
broken leg. She had no sooner done
this than the neighbor came in with |
the boy found under the haystack.
At this time the invasion had
disrupted communications of the
underground. Mrs. Tartiere had no
choice but to hide the flyers for the
month that elapsed before American
troops arrived-a dangerous length