#FlashbackFriday: The Exchange Nurse Who Aided Victims of a Famous Shipwreck
Shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern July 25, 1956—67 years ago this month—the SS Andrea Doria, an Italian luxury passenger ship, collided with another ship, the MS Stockholm, in heavy fog off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Although the disaster didn’t inspire an Oscar-winning move like “Titanic,” several fictional films and documentaries have been made about the wreck, which was notable for its high number of survivors: Although 51 people aboard the Andrea Doria and five aboard the Stockholm died, more than 1,700 survived. For comparison, about 1,500 people died in the Titanic disaster.
Several ships were able to quickly come to the Andrea Doria’s aid, including the Stockholm, which was less severely damaged and was able to provide lifeboats, and the Ile de France, which brought more than 700 survivors to New York City, where the Red Cross and several other agencies had been mobilized to care for the victims. The Red Cross was prepared two hours before the Ile de France docked.
Among the Red Cross volunteers was Roberta M. Frey, a registered nurse based at Exchange headquarters, which were then in New York City.
In this photo from the September 1956 edition of the Exchange Post, Exchange nurse and Red Cross volunteer, Roberta M. Frey, waits for the Ile de France, which transported 700 passengers from the wrecked SS Andrea Doria, to dock.
“It was a pathetic scene,” Frey told the Exchange Post in 1956, explaining that the first passengers who left the Ile de France were the most seriously injured, who were immediately transported to hospitals. Frey and other volunteers helped other survivors—including parents with infant children, older adults and people who had suffered minor injuries— down a steep gangway and toward stations offering a canteen, nursing, social services and clothing for the survivors.
Many of the survivors were small Italian children who spoke no English and were separated from their parents. The Red Cross and other volunteers worked to reunite the families. Frey recalled that three girls, 6, 8 and 11 years old, did not want to leave the Ile de France. But when Frey, in her Red Cross nurse’s uniform, and another nurse arrived, the children recognized the uniforms and were persuaded to leave the boat, after which they were turned over to the Consul General of Italy to be reunited with their parents.
Frey was later honored for her actions, which coincidentally took place on the 61st anniversary of the Exchange.
The last lifeboat left the Andrea Doria at 5:30 a.m. on July 26. Less than five hours later, the ship capsized and sank. It remains at a depth of about 250 feet and has become a popular dive site. According to Britannic.com, the hazardous dive has been nicknamed the “Mount Everest of Wreck Diving” because of the skills needed to make the dive.
Sources: Exchange Post archives, Brittanica.com.
