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FORTY
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
AUGUST 25, 1945
Pontifical Requiem Maos Offered for
[Victims of Empire State Building Disaster
f«v N. c. W. C. News Service)
NEW YORK. — A Solemn Pon
tifical Mass of Requiem was offer
ed in St. Patrick’s Cathedral here
for the men and women who lost
their lives when an Army bomber
crashed into the Empire State
building.
More than 2,000 persons, in
cluding relatives of the eleven
victims from the staff of War Re
bel Services-N. C. W. C., repre-
• senlatives of the Army and the
City of New York, of Catholic wel
fare agencies and oher organiza
tions engaged in alleviating the
sufferings caused by the war, were
in tiie congregation.
' They heard a message from His
Excellency the Most Rev. Amleio
Giovanni Cicognani, Apostolic
Delegate to the United States,
Which conveyed the condolence-,
of His Holiness Pope Pius XII and
imparled Hie Apostolic Blessing
to (lie bereaved.
1 The Most Rev. Francis J. Spell
man. Archbishop of New York,
who pontificated at the Mass and
read the Papal message before
pronouncing the final absolution,
mourned "Ihe loss of so many
devoted workers in War Relief
Services,” who “dedicated, con
secrated and sacrificed their lives
to humanity.”
DIED SHORTLY BEFORE MASS
Only three-quarters oi an hour
before the Pontifical Mass began
one more name was added to the
toll of dead, when Joseph C.
Fountain. 47-year-old supervisor
of I he special request section of
th<- prisoner of war department,
War Relief Services, died in
HBellevue Hospital of burns, after
having survived the disaster for
96 hours. His death increased the
number of victims among the staff
of War Relief Services to 11. The
other three who lost their lives in
the tragedy were two members
of I lie crew and a passenger of the
Army planer
Representatives of the Nation
al Catholic Community Service,
New York Catholic Charities, the
Catholic Guardian Society and the
Catholic Home Bureau, as well as
5 members of the Overseas Divi
sion. National Council of Catholic
Women, attended the Mass.
The Army Air Forces were rep
resented by Brig. Gen. C. P.
Kane, commander of the Atlantic
Overseas Command. Mayor Fior-
ello H. LaGuardia, Police Com
missioner Lewis J. Valentine and
Fire Commissioner Patrick J.
Walsh represented the city of
New York.
Special pews had been reserved
in Si, Patrick's Cathedral for rep
resentatives of many nations and
other religious and welfare groups
who had come to pay final tribute
Among organizations represented
at the Mass were the following:
America-Denmark Relief: Ameri
can Bureau for Medical Aid io
China: American Christian Com
mittee fpr Refugees; American
Committee in Aid of Chinese In
dustrial Cooperatives; American
Committee of OFE; American
Field Service; American Friends
of Czechoslovakia; American
Friends Service Committee;
American Hungarian Relief:
American-Jewish Joint Distribu
tion Committee; American O. R. T.
Federation: American Relief for
Czechoslovakia.
Also: American Relief for j
France: American Relief for Hoi-1
land; American Relief for Italy;
American Women's Hospitals.
Armenian General Benevolent
Union; Belgian War Relief Socie
ty: Brethren Service' Committee;
British War Relief Society; China
Aid Council; Church Committee
for Relief in Asia; Congregational
Christian Service Committee; Co
operative League of Ihe United
Stales; Girl Scoi-ts; Greek Mar
Relief Association: Hadassah.
OTHER GROUPS
Hebrew Sheltering and Immi
grant Aid Society. H. I. A. S.-I. C.
A Immigration Association; Inter
nal ional Migration Service; Inter
national Rescue & Relief Commit
tee: Labor League for Human
Rights. A. F. of L.; National C. I.
O.. War Relief Committee: Na
tional CounciJ of Jewish Women;
Near East Foundation; Paderew
ski Testimonial Fund: Polish War
Relief; Refuge Relief Trustees;
Russian Children Welfare Socie
ty: Salvation Army; Save the
Children Federation.
Self Help of Emigres from Cen
tral Europe; Tolstoy Foundation:
Unitarian Service Committee;
United China Relief; United Lith
uanian Relief Fund of America;
United Slates Committee for Care
of European Children; United
Yugoslav Relief Fund of Amer
ica: World Student Service Fund:
YMCA: YWCA; American Relief
for India: American Counsel of
Voluntary Agencies for Foreign
Service; National War Fund; N. Y.
School of Social Work; United
Service Organization; and United
Clothing Collection.
Bomber Rammed Offices of NCWC in Empire State Buildi
AUGUSTA CURB MARKET
—and—
UNITED FOOD STORE
ALL FRUITS IN SEASON
Fresh Vegetables and Fancy Groceries
COMPLETE MEAT MARKET
391 FIFTH STREET
• AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
B-25 bomber which crashed
into the Empire State Building in
New York City during a heavy*fog
took tiie lives of fourteen persons,
eleven of them employes of the
War Relief Service of the National
Catholic Welfare Conference. The
plane drilled this hole in the build
ing. hitting between the 78th and
79th floors. It was on the 79th
floor that the N. C. W. C. had its
offices. The first body of any
victim identified was that ol' Paul
Dealing, 35-year-old Public Rela
tions Director for War Relief Ser
vices-N. C. W. C. His body was
found on the 72nd floor set-back,
where it is believed to have been
blown by the explosion. Mr. Dear-
ing. a former Buffalo newspaper
man and a former member of the
headquarters staff of the National
Catholic Community Service, was
President of the National Catholic
Evidence Conference. He is sur
vived by a wife and four young
daughters. It has been established
that seventeen persons were in
the offices of War Relief Services-
National Catholic Welfare Confer
ence at the time of file disaster.
As the terrible heat burst forth
from flaming gasoline immediately
after the plane crashed inlo the
building and exploded, six women
employes and one man rushed into
the office of the Rev. Edward E.
Swanstrom, Assistant Executive
Director of War Relief Scrvices-
N. C. W. C. Trapped there for
I .ree-quarters of an hour, they
Building of Catholic Hospital in Dillon
Thrilled Chamber of Commerce Secretary
(Special to The Bulletin)
DILLON, S. C.—Emmett I. Rear
don. veteran ci'ic organization ex
ecutive and newspaper correspond
ent for many daily and weekly pa-
pc for more than fifty years, and
wiio was last month unanimously
reelected secretary of the Dillon
Chamber of Commerce for the
twenty-first consecutive year, cele
brated bis eighty-first birthday on
August 18. •
Secretary Reardon has served
the commercial organization of
Sumter, Camden and Diilon as sec
retary. and in 1924, was assistant
to Ihe secretary of the Rock Hill
Chamber of Commerce and served
that year as publicity director of
the York. County Fair Asocial ion
and the memorable Pageant of
Progress entitled “America, the'
Meltin'. Pot of the Nations”,
which was staged by the Rock Hill
Chamber of Commerce and the
York County Fair Association, with
hundreds of students from Win-
throp College participating.
Mr. Reardon has served for
years as correspondent for The
Associated Press in this section,
and is secretary and publicity di-
rreetor of Ihe Dillon Tobacco Mar
ket Boosters Club.
/ Asked what he considered was
■the greatest thr ’’ of the hundreds
w community projects he had
limlped put across during his more
£ an fifty years of civic service,
r. Reardon said: “Somehow or
t«»ther. I feel that I experienced
p»ny greatest thrill in having, with
^anany others of Dillon County, in
duced Bishop Emmet Walsh, of
^Charleston ,to interest the Sisters
pol SI. Mary of the Third Order of
jtn. Francis, from St. Louis, to
dome to South Carolina and to
’'•reel, at their own expense? the
r«nagnilicent St. Eugene's Hospital
in Dillon, which cost them about
$300,000, and which is Dilkm Coun
ty's first and only hospital.”
A most gratifying feature of this
Institution's work of mercy was
Oho wholehearted community and
oeunty cooperation, when dozens
of men and women. Protestants,
Jews and Catholics, white and col
ored. voluntarily contributed about
$20.1.00 to assist in equipping the
hospital. In addition to these con
tributions the County of Dillon
furnished the large and conven
iently located site for the hospi
tal; the City of Dillon, through its
unicipal government, contracted
to furnish in perpetuity all of tiie
water for the hospital, free of cost,
and also installed at the city’s ex
pense tiie water and sewerage con
nections, and splendidly drained
the properly and added streets to
the grounds.
“And.” added Mr. Reardon. Dil
lon and Dillon C unty are truly
grateful to Bishop Walsh and the
Sisters of St. Mary. No commun
ity can make progressive strides
until il can boast of a modern hos
pital to supplement its other allrac
five features. The fast growing
towns are those that can truthful
ly advertise the best hospitals,
churches and schools among their
attractions.”
MARIST COLLEGE GRADUATE
ENTERS NAVAL ACADEMY
ATLANTA, Ga. — C. William.
Stoddard, Jr., 18-year-old seaman
first class, of Atlanta, is now en
rolled at the United States Naval
Academy. Annapolis. He was rec
ommended for the appointment
by liis commanding officer al
Memphis, whefe he graduated as
an aviation radio mechanic in
January, 1945.
He was one of nine seamen rec
ommended out of an original 140
applicants at the aviation school.
All applicants were selected on a
highly competitive basis, because
only 100 men were accepted for
the Academy from the entire
Navy personnel.
He was graduated from Marist
College last June with honor, be
ing veledielorian of his class. He
won a scholarship to the Univer
sity of Georgia, but enlisted in
(he Naval Air Corps Iasi July.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C.
W. Stoddard
| Donald Maloney. 17, Catholi
j sailor from Detroit, pictured dui
j mg a Navy Press conference, i
New York, where lie told of hi
j fart in bringing first aid to vie
| tinis of the Empire State Buildini
i bomber crash Firemen pushe
; him through a small opening t
reach an injured woman elevato
operator pinned in the wreckage
Maloney, serving with the Coas
Guard, lias been a hospital ap
prentice in training at Groton
Conn , the past eight months
INP, (NC Photos)
FIRST DEGREE INITIATION
HELD BY SAVANNAH K. OF C.
SAVANNAH. Ga—The first de
gree by Savannah Council, Knights
of Columbus, was conferred on
about thirty candidates on August
1. al, a ceremonial hold at the K,
of C. Home here.
The class was composed largely
of service men from this area, and
another first degree exemplifica
tion will be held in the near fu
ture.
Taking part in the eeremoniul
were L. Gordon Whelan, grand
knight: C. J. Desposito, deputy
grand knight; 1C. P. Daly, chancel
lor, and Vestus J. Ryan, warden.
Following the degree a shrimp
supper was terved by John Buck-
ley, lecturer of the council, and
members of the committee.
resorted to prayer and managed
to keep alive by occasional drafts
of fresh air from the open win
dows. Although more or less seri
ously burned, ail seven survived.
The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Patrick A.
O’Boyle. Executive Director, Wars
Relief Services-N. C. W. C., arriv
ed at the building with Father
Swanstrom ten minutes after the
disaster. Making special arrange
ments .they were taken to the 67th
floor, the highest point that could
be reached by an elevator after
the crash. Crawling through flame
and smoke, stumbling over fire
hose, they administered the Last
Rites of the Church to each victim
within reach. They were assisted
by two priests from Holy Inno
cents Church, who were eye-wit
nesses to the crash—(NCWC)
ANOTHER CATHOLIC CHAP
LAIN, bringing ihe total to seven,
lost his life in the sinking of the
Japanese prison ship in Subic Bay
in December, 1944, the Navy De
partment lias announced. Previ
ously listed as “detained by the
enemy” and now listed as “killed
in action,” is the Rev. Francis J.
McManus, Navy chaplain, formerly
of tl*o Diocese of Cleveland. He
was awarded ihe Silver Star Med
al for heroism aboard the subma
rine tender Canopus. He was cap
tured by tiie Japanese during the
collapse of Bataan. The deaths of
the other six priests on the prison
ship wefe announced some time
ago.
Crash Hero