Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • 20

V- The Indionq GozeHe Soturdoy, September 29. 1984 Page 20 Survivors of disaster form bond Ili-L- ambulances, patients, doctors and people coming to see their children. My job was to meet those people who began gathering. A man came and said. 'My little boy's name is and I had to say, 'I'm terribly sorry, but we have no "We used my office as a temporary morgue.

There were eight dead Americans in my office. After the tragedy was over and the bodies were buried, there were blood stains on my carpet that would not come out. I had to move my desk to cover them up. "It was terribly heartbreaking," she said. "The village was absolutely crushed." In all.

37 children died instantly, two died the next day and one died two weeks later. Forty children killed 40 years ago, in addition to the American and British servicemen. More than 70 people died that day. Contrasting with the sobering tragedy, however, were the two young survivors of the Trinity School crash, Nell McMahan said Ruby May Whittle and Georgie Carey. The two, now married and living in England, came to the Indiana reunion this week, she said.

The McMahans have kept in touch with Ruby and Georgie over the years, mostly because Nell who was known as "Nurse Russell" then was with them daily in the base hospital helping to bring them back to health. Healing their bums and injuries took a long time, but developing a sense of affection did not, she said. The BAD 2 Association held a reunion in England a few years ago, with heartwarming results for the McMahans. "All they (Ruby and Georgie) could say was, "We want to see Nurse she recalled. "They embody in me all the American medical attention they got I was a constant presence there.

"There have been some very touching things with those young people," Nell McMahan said. For example, at another reunion the McMahans were unable to attend. Ruby and her husband, Brian Currell. made a tape recording they sent to Nell and George in Indiana. Ruby said hello and spoke for a few moments, but when it came time for her husband to speak, he choked up.

After some coaxing, Brian Currell finally collected himself to recsrd a tearful thank you to Nell especially for saving tittle Ruby May, now his wife. Moments like that, said Nell McMahan, have made the 40 years following the Trinity School tragedy easier to bear. In addition, the BAD 2 Association, which has held six reunions over the years, has allowed the McMahans to keep in touch with those people who had to work together more than ever that August 1944 day and to recall the cheerful and tearful memories of their days in Britain during the war. "The association has been thriving." she said. "We have recounted old friendships, people we've kept in touch with, especially Ruby May and Georgie." By TIM HAYES GacvHe Staff Writer years is a long time, but some things remain fresh in a person's memory for much longer.

in fact. Jut ask Nell McMahan, 78, and her husband, George, 76, of Indiana. were serving with the American forces to Lancashire, England, one 1944 day when a tragic aircraft accident swept away scores of lives. Scares of very young lives. this past week, they were joined by two survivors of the fiery accident, as well as nine other fellow servicemen and women From their days in Britain during World War II at a three-day reunion in Indiana.

The group shared many experiences during the war, but one day stands out more than any other because of its horror, its sorrow, its tragedy. "It was Aug. 23, 1944' recalled Nell McMahan. "We were at Base Air Depot 2, where they brought American planes to be modified to operational status. I was chief nurse at the station hospital.

"It was a dark, overcast morning. Very peculiar cloud formations, I remember. I went to the annex, and as Heft that building I was astounded by the awesome feel of the atmosphere. I looked at my watch. It said 20 minutes to 11." Five minutes later, at 10:45 a.m., tragedy struck.

A B-J4 bomber out for a test flight after being refurbished at BAD 2. piloted by 1st Lt. John Bloemendal, lost an airborne battle with the elements. That "awesome atmosphere" Nell McMahan described lived ap to its billing that British morning. One of the most severe and quick-, est-moving storms the people of that area had ever seen swooped over Lancashire and caught Bloemen-dal's B-24 completely off guard.

Before' long, the bomber's crew became disoriented its controls out of whack, its visibility nonexistent, its hopes near gone. Finally, the worst happened. "Johnny got caught in a down-draft," Nell McMahan said. "The force of the wind pushed the plane down uncontrollably. He crashed into a little schoolhouse at Freckle-ton, one of the little villages near the base.

The plane landed on the infants' room of the school and cartwheeled to a snack bar across the road. "In a very short time, the hospital filled up with GIs, RAF (Royal Air Force) men and five English school children." Freckleton's Trinity School, which instantly lost 37 of its youngest students, was just as quickly set ablaze by flaming airplane fuel. The tragedy continued. American and British servicemen worked frantically to douse the flames at the school and at the Sad Sack Snack Bar, where some of their Allied comrades were killed by the cartwheeling wreckage. Nell McMahan's nursing crews and the hospital's doctors got survivors into the hospital and began caring for them almost immediately.

Although no battles raged, the horrible reality of war made itself clearly visible at Freckleton that day. The memories remain fresh for Nell McMahan. "The children were indistinguishable because of their injuries1 she recalled. "A young school teacher had been killed. An older teacher was to have retired the next week.

We got her into the hospital, and I can remember having to cut her clothing off for her to be examined. She died that night. "There was a little boy without a name who was one of the survivors. I saw him at 11 o'clock. At 4, a quiet little country couple came in.

He was theirs. He died the next day. "Within minutes of the accident, the apron of the hospital filled with Nell and George McMahan, inset photo, were stationed at a U.S. Army base in England in 1944 when a fiery plane crash killed 70 people, mostly children. Nurse Russell, as she was known then, is pictured at right with two of the survi-vors, Georgie Carey, left photo, and ftvby May Whittle.

They all are gathered above in a reunion this week in Indiana: from left, the McMahans, Brian and Ruby May (Whittle) Currell, and Carey. (Gazette photo by Peel) Razor-sharp advice: don't steam up the bathroom ford spent a few davs visiting his sister in EDITOR'S NOTE: The Gazette's World 'I Paid My Income Tax Todav." The for FEBRUARY 18 readers told the editor what they thought, but their letters prompted this reply: "War is unpleasant, cruel and inhuman. And it is more dangerous to forget this fact than it is mer was used during war bond drives, with the lyrics asking, "Any bonds today? Bonds of Freedom, that's what I'm selling, any bonds today? Scrape up the most you can, here comes the Freedom Man, asking you to buy a share of freedom today." Cleveland before joining the Army The Athletic Committee of the Indiana County Principals voted to call off the annual basketball tournament and the county track and field meet The committee believed that schools had a moral obligation to lead their communities in restricting wartime travel The manufacturer of Gem razor blades reminded men that blades were made of critical metals, and no more would be available for civilian use until after the war. "So don't drop your razor and put the blade out of alignment Don't knock your razor against the bowl to remove lather because that may damage the blade. And to save the blade from a rust coating, don't steam up the bathroom" Dan Lurie, the most muscular man in who could do 1,625 pushups, was declared unfit for military service because of a slight heart murmur.

Indiana County suffered from the worst cold wave of the winter. Temperatures from 8 to 16 degrees below zero were reported The Russian army captured Kharkov from the Germans and continued to sweep toward the Dneiper River. Reports from Germany revealed that the admission of defeats in Russia was causing morale to deteriorate faster than was believed possible Officials in the United States refused to publish these reports lest they raise false hopes of an early victory Mr. and Mrs. Geary Spicher of Cherry Tree, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December, had two grandchildren in the service.

Army Cpl. Edgar Wilson was at Camp Car-rabelle, and Pvt. Kenneth Myers was stationed at Camp Van Dora, Miss. Ration books issued to teenage children could now be used for coffee Carl Keith of Star- Wmt Diary was prepared by Dr. George T.

Wiley of the Indiana University ofPenn-tytvania history department as part of the department's ongoing commitment to the research of heal history. The project recalls Indiana County, its people and activities daring World War II. The series is published periodically in conjunction with the anniversary yean of the war. FEBRUARY 16, 1943 The battle for Guadalcanal Island was declared officially over. The last Japanese on the Island was either dead, captured or evacuated.

A picture taken by a photographer for Life magazine during the final days of fierce fighting caused an uproar when it was published in the United States. The picture was of a Japanese soldier's skull -propped up on a burned-out tank. Disgusted to De shocked by reminders The Indiana-Ernest bus made a stop at Fourth and Oak and was hit by a car driven by Guido Pagltarini of Sagamore. Damage was $200 John Campbell, proprietor of the Campbell Dairy farm, was taking a two-hour stint in the airplane-observatrion tower on his farm shortly after midnight when he noticed smoke coming from his barn. His investigation discovered a small fire in the pig section caused by a short circuit He apologized for quitting his post and "leaving the community to the mercy of invading planes" Irving Berlin, whose show "This is the Army" was a smash hit coast to coast, wrote two lesser-known songs for the Treasury Department, "Any Bonds Today?" and.