Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-25
7 U. 5. Carriers
Hunt Victims Of
RiddIed Plane
Shooting Of Plane
By Chinese Called
Borbority by Dulles


Outraged by the shooting down
OF a British passenger airliner
with American citizens aboard,
the United States yesterday sent
two aircraft carriers to protect
the search for victims who still
might be in the waters of Red
China's Hainan Island.
Secretary of State Dulles de-
nounced the destruction Of the
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Airiiner Pilots Own Story Of Being Shot
Down IN Sea. Pose A-3.
airliner and the killing of some
OF its II passengers and four
crewmen as an act of "barbar-
ity" for which he said Commu-
mist China must be held re-
SponSible."
Secretary of Defense Wilson is
sued the order sending the car
riers Hornet and Philippine Sea
to the waters south of the island.
Both carriers are Of the Essex
class and are equipped with Jet
fighter planes. The Navy said
they normally are based in the
Philippines, but were conducting
routine operations in the China
Sea.
Both the Navy action and the
Dulles statement on the plane
incident had been cleared with
President Eisenhower. Secre-
taries Dulles and Wilson were
Joined in their consultation on
the problem by Vice President
Nixon and Admiral Radford.
chairman Of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff.
Britain Files Peiping Protest.
Shooting down of the British
airliner occurred Friday when
two fighter planes swooped sud-
denly from the skies and opened
flre about 80 miles south of
Hainan Islands. Great Britain
yesterday ordered protest filed
at Peiping.
Three Of the six Americans
aboard the plane were presumed
lost. Only eight known survivors
have been picked up, three Of
them Americans.
United States Air Force head
quarters at Tokyo said United
States Navy fighter planes few
protective cover while an Air
Force amphibian from the Phil
ippines rescued the eight persons.
The rescue plane moved boldly
to within 100 yards of the tiny
Communicated Isla OF
Tachou three miles off the east
coast Of Hainan. French and
British planes co-operated in the
rescue and search operations.
The rescued Americans were
Peter Shaw Thatcher, q, of
Stonington. Conn; Mrs. Leonard
L. Parish of Iowa Park, Tex.
and her daughter, Valerie. Mrs.
Parish was first reported to
have a broken back but her
injury later was diagnosed as a
broken collarbone.
Mrs. Parish's husband and two
small sons were among the
missing.
Another survivor was Stew
ardess Iris E. Stobart.
Dulles Assails "Barbarity."
The State Department charged
that two Chinese Communists
based fighter aircraft" deliber-
ately shot down the airliner in
flames.
The statement by Secretary
Dulles yesterday. supplemented
by speeches in Congress, indi-
Gated that United States was
taking a much stronger and
angrier line than the British
government.
Announcing that Secretary
Wilson had ordered the two
carriers to proceed to the scene
Ito cover and protect" further
search operations, Secretary
Dulles declared:
THE loss of life among pas
sengers and crew of a civilian
plane. proceeding on a normal
scheduled fight. elicits our
deepest feelings of sympathy
THE United States Govern
ment takes the gravest view of
this act of further barbarity for :
which the Chinese Communist
regime must be held responsible.
The action to be taken by the
United States will be subse-
Continued on Page A-3, Col. ~
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