Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-12-05
FLYERS Seek Heroine
Who Hid Them in
Wet Nam During War
By the Associated Press


China Sea today offered verifi-
cation Of a Viet-Namese wom-
ans story that she hid II Amer
lean airmen and was imprisoned
by the japanese.
The survivor, former Ensign
william A. Quinn of Elmhurst,
ILL.,, said some members of the air
squadron want to locate the "a
year-old woman, Mrs. Andre
Pagnon, and chip in and help
her"
Mrs. Pagnon, now believed in
Paris, related october Is at Sal
gon. Wet Nam. that she spent
912 years in Japanese and Wet
Mini prison camps because she
helped hide the II Americans.
She told of being forced to
leave her 2-month-old daughter.
Monique, with Wet Mini jailors
when they released her and her
French army husband. also a
prisoner of war, last August 81.
Co-Pilot Tells of Tragedy.
She told her story to Ameri-
can embassy officials at Saigon
and presented some supporting
letters as proof that she had as
sisted the three officers and
eight enlisted men. The Ameri-
can officials made no comment
on her story but helped pay her
fare to Paris, France.
Mr.. Quinn, a former co-pilot,
read an Associated Press news
story of the woman's plight and
came to the A. P. Office in
Chicago to fill in some of the
details.
Mr.. Quinn, 80, said the patrol
bomber crash-landed in the
China Sea January 26, 1945. at
Tam Guiana, a point near Guam
Ngai, the same as related by
Mrs. Pagnon.
But her version didn't turn
out as happily as she thought.
Only one member of the crew
was able to escape in a United
States submarine three days
later.
Mr.. Quinn is married and
father of three children. He lives
In Elmhurst, ILL.,, and Is a sales
man.
Only Mr.. Quinn and Radio
man Charles Hamilton of Boston,
Mrss, survive the 11-man crew
which Mrs. Pagnon helped by
hiding them in the hills and
bringing them food.
The other members of the
crew who landed in a rubber raft
were: 1t. James L. Stevenson,
pilot, Cape Girardeau, Mo-; En-
sign Dwaine Peterson, navigator,
Lincoln Park, Mich; Vincent M.
Grady, I'd radioman, Bogota,
N. j.; Donald H. Douglas, me-
chanic, Mobile. Ala; Thomas S.
MCGOWAN, mechanic, Lawrence.
Mass; Frederick Barnes, me-
chanic. Denver, Colo; Gordon
H Yates, ordnance man, Potts
town, Pa; Joseph N. Vendittie,
ordnance man, Detroit, Mich;
Warren K. Daley, mechanic.
Chateau, Mont.
Mr.. Quinn says it was like this:
I'VE we're tracking Japanese
subs that day a decade ago along
the coast of French Indo-C China.
We were on scout from Min
doro, Philippines.
1--WE spotted three japanese
ships and circled them several
times for photographs. Before
we could get away, a zeke-a
Zero with pontoons-hit us with
several bursts. The engines of
our P. B. M. bomber began to
sputter.
Rescued by Submarine.
"We got 100 miles up the coast
before we radioed our position
and ditched. The next day a
Navy plane was overhead. We
moved to the hills with the aid
of Mrs. Pagnon's friends. She
brought us food.
ION the third day a Wet
Namese member of the under
ground took Hamilton to the
woman's house. He could speak
a little French.
"a United States Navy plane
few over, and Hamilton waved
from the beach. In a few hours
an American submarine surfaced
off shore, and Hamilton swan
to it. and it took him aboard.
Japanese soldiers saw him
make his escape and took Mrs.
Pagnon prisoner. That was jan
uary %, 1945," Mr.. Quinn said.
Three months later, Mr..
Quinn's group got separated
from 1t. Stevenson and Ensign
Peterson. They never saw them
again. 3
Mr.. Hamilton said at his Med
ford home in greater Boston that
he believed Mrs. Pagnon is the
woman who aided him and he
would like to help her.
Captured and Executed.
The seven other crew members
and Mr.. Quinn wandered In the
hills and lived with the Wet
Namese who loaned them money
and guns.
While the Americans were
hiding in a hut, a Japanese
patrol approached at night. AS
the Japanese crossed an open
area to surround the place, the
Americans fired with a machine
gun. Three Japanese were killed.
when they had us completely
surrounded we surrendered and
they tied us up," Mr.. Quinn
said.
"They took six of our group.