Show tah Nurse Walks 60 Days bays fr o 0 Escape Nazis in Albania jr John lohn F. F Chester CAIRO Feb 16 UP PF-A PF A A 60 by y journey on foot through I occupied pied territory by 13 American merican arm army nurses and 17 soldiers after their theira transport a sport plane had lad cr crashed in Albania Ubani aria was described here herey Wednesday y by the m man n who prided guided d thc them to to safety Lieuten Lieutenant nt Helen Porter or er yso Utah h was a member of ot ote the he e group it was disclosed Wed Wed- daby by her cousin Mrs Paul n Salt Lake City Mrs tilson recci received ed her information front from the war war department Lieutenant Gavan Duffy Brit- Brit 1 parachute officer who was attached to the Albanian partisans partisans par par- and who was assigned d to lead the group through German lines ines told the h story of r t the e cx cx- clUng ra adventure I The plane had left Sicily for i Barl Bar Italy but the pilot pilotS ov overshot over r- r shot his destination making a crash landing ng across the Adriatic Adriatic Adri Adri- atiq sea in Albania Partisans who found the party after the crash led them to a a nearby town but they were forced to leave almost immediately im un- un mediately when a German detachment detachment de de- de approached the neigh neigh- Then three Messer- Messer schmitt dive div bombed and I strafed them as they walked along a R. ro road d and they w were re forced to flee into the hills Duffy who wh l had idi caught aught up with with- them after partisan headquarters headquarters head head- head P quarters had been Informed of ot the incident said that If for r the next nine ine d days s 's they y wa walked ked from six to seven seyen hours houi a day sometimes through knee deep deep e-deep snow this period they crossed one of Alb Albania's nias nia's tas ta's highest mountains in a raging bl blizzard and at last arrived within two days travel tra of an evacuation point Nazi activities in the neighborhood kept them away There followed another six days of hiking along mountain mountain- Continued on Page e Two Column Six Utah Nurse Foils Nazis in Flight After Afler Air Crash Continued on Page Pap Two ous trails and little used side roads until Duffy brought them themi t I i to an open spot suitable for aircraft atrI airI air air- I craft landing He had been in ine I e touch with allied headquarters during the trek and he now asked that planes be sent to pick pickup pickup pickup up the party Again the nazis stepped in Just before the planes were due duea a German infantry and tank force moved into a n fortified village village vil vii lage age comm commanding the landing ground In the the valley below Duffy hid the party in the hills hillson hillson hillson on the opposite side of the thc val al alIcy alIcy al Icy ley Then the rescue squadron roared in In four four transport planes escorted by 36 For 15 minutes the fugitives witnessed witnessed witnessed wit wit- a n. battle between the planes anc and the Germans Finally the squadron l left ft The trek continues The Thel nurses shoes wore thin and three c of ot them finished up wearing wearing wearing wear wear- ing No 8 mens men's shoes padded with heavy woolen socks Christmas came and was marked by a gay chicken dinner cooked over campfires Night after night they the slept in lice lice- ridden villages but they were sh sheltered always by friendly partisans The food sometimes skimpy was generally good A five-day five forced march mostly without sleep ended their trip They reached safety just two months after the takeo takeoff takeoff take take- o off on what was to have been beena a n. two-hour two flight Duffy a hard-bitten hard York- York paid his tribute Those nurses were brave he smiled They showed no signs of fear even in the tightest spots Names of or ten of the 13 nurses were available here They included Gertrude Dawson Lillian Lillian Lillian Lil Lil- lian Agnes Eugenie Eugenie Eugenie Eu Eu- genie voski Pauline Ken Ken- able Lois Watson Vatson Ann Stephanie Markowitz Elna and Frances Nelson In Pittsburgh Tuesday Miss Dawson a a. former United Airlines Airlines Air Air- lines Unes stewardess told of the in incident incident in- in but said too many lives were were Oat at stake to name their benefactors or discuss the happenings happenings happenings hap of those terrible weeks a a a Lieutenant Porter is the daughter of Rath Porter Hanksville Hanks- Hanks ville and was born October 25 1913 in Payson She was graduated graduated 8 ted from Payson high school and entered nurses training at atthe atthe atthe the Salt Lake General hospital in August 1932 graduating August 15 1935 She worked at the veterans veteran's hospital in Fort Lyons Colo Colo olo before re enlisting in the the aia army inn Y nurse corps in the summer of 1911 She was stationed at army air field Texas later receiving training in the air evacuation unit at Bowman field Louisville Ky She left for overseas duty in September 1943 |