Mrs. Rose Bader and her daughter, Jennie, were making surgical dressings on Wednesday night at the Syrian surgical unit, as they do every week, when another daughter, Josephine, came to tell her mother that Major Logan of Bedford Airport, representing the War Department, was at the Bader home, 34 Sturtevant avenue.
When Mrs. Bader arrived at her home, Major Logan presented her with the Air Medal which has been awarded her son, Staff Sergeant Naimie Bader, missing from the 8th Air Force since May 29th. Major Logan told Mrs. Bader she was to wear the medal proudly for her son until his return and reassured her with the fact that the Air Force men missing from bombing missions over Europe have a fifty-fifty chance of coming home.
Staff Sergeant Bader was a waist gunner on a flying fortress. On June 7th, Mrs. Bader received the telegram which reported him missing as of May 29th. The citation which accompanied the Air Medal was dated June 17th. It read;
“Citation: for exceptionally meritorious achievement >62» participating in five separate bombing combat missions over enemy-occupied continental Europe. The courage, coolness and skill displayed by these officers and enlisted men upon these occasions reflects great credit upon themselves and the Armed Forces of the United States.’’
And below: “Naimie Bader, Staff Sergeant, Army Air Forces. The citation was signed by command Brigadier General Longfellow.
Mrs. Bader has two other sons in the service: Technical Sergeant Moses Bader, now at Camp Edwards, and Corporal Nicholas Bader, now in Washington, D. C. A third son, George, is a teacher in Dighton High School, and there is a fourth boy, William.
After making the presentation to Mrs. Bader, Major Logan said his wife, who accompanied him, expressed a desire to see the Syrian Red Cross next at work. Mrs. Logan is head of the surgical unit at her husband’s army post. Both spoke to the surgical workers at their workroom in St George’s Church.
Major Logan, urging the importance of continued and increased effort in making the dressings, told the group that one boy alone, badly burned in a plane crash, had required 25.000 dressings in three months time and that having the dressings to work with had done much in saving his life.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)