By E. V. McLEAN
A Norwood Army nurse, stationed at the Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, Pa., is alive today and home on leave after being saved from her flaming car in that city by two men who braved the intense heat and flames to effect her rescue.
Lieutenant Carmen Maddocks, 20, daughter of Mrs. Charles W. Maddocks of 608 Nichols Street, Norwood, suffered a burn on her neck and her hair was singed before she was pulled from the flaming car unconscious after it skidded oil a highway not far from the hospital, ruptured the gasoline tank on a culvert, and burst into flames.
The accident occurred on Tuesday night, November 24, at 10:30 p.m. at the intersection of Charlestown and Pickering roads in Phoenixville. The late model convertible driven by Lt. Maddocks, was burned down to the chassis after the car caught fire and is a total loss.
Two men who were driving past the scene, Paul J. Hogan of 26 Buckwalter Road and Paul Nesspor of 64 Montgomery Avenue, left their cars to effect her rescue despite the intense heat and flames.
Lt. Maddocks was rushed to the nearby Valley Forge Hospital where she was stationed and treated for minor burns.
Colonel Kenneth D. Orr, Commander of the hospital, just last week learned the identity of the two men who rescued the Army nurse, and in letters to the two men expressed his appreciation for their courage.
Col. Orr related that immediately after the accident, and with the car in flames, Nesspor arrived on the scene and was joined by Hogan. The two men attempted to pry open the car doors, but at first were unsuccessful. Lt. Maddocks, unconscious, was trapped under the dashboard to the right of the steering wheel.
Hogan and Nesspor finally forced open a door. Hogan entered the car and dragged Lt. Maddocks to safety. He returned and groped in the smoke and flames on the chance that another occupant might be trapped.
In his letters of commendation to the two men, Col. Orr said: “A commendation offering my personal thanks for your quick thinking and for your promptness in removing Lt. Maddocks from her burning vehicle without regard to your personal safety. Your response to this emergency was exception ally noteworthy.”
Needless to say, Lt. Maddocks also offered her most sincere thanks to the men.
Lt. Maddocks is home on a 30-day leave before assuming new duties at an Army base hospital in Korea. She will leave San Francisco on Jan 5 for her new post, flying out of Travis Air Force Base for Korea.
Lt. Maddocks graduated from the Norwood High School in 1960 and has been an Army nurse for almost two years. She has three brothers, Charles, John, and Henry.
At the Maddocks home, Lt. Maddocks is showing some silver coins from her purse which were just a mound of molten metal after the fire, some singed bills, and twisted ignition keys, all reminders of her harrowing experience.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)