Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-10
SERVES IN THREE WARS
EXPERIENCES OF MISS KEMMER,
AN ARMY NURSE.
Was in China During a Part of Boxer
Disturbances-In Cuba and
Philippines. ..

Miss Alice S. Kemmer an ex-member of
the Army Nurse Corps Of the United States
army, who is in Washington for the winter,
has a record for which she is envied by all
the members of her profession. She is a
survivor of three wars-the Spanish-Ameri-
can, the Chinese, and the Philippine, during
which she rendered valiant services and
won the admiration Of the entire army and
the respect and esteem of all those to whom
she mnistered.
Speaking of her army service to a Star
reporter she said:
Soon after the Spanish-American war
broke out. l entered the army as a con-
tract nurse, and saw service at Chicka-
manga. Savannah. Jacksonville and in
Cuba. When the war was over / came back
to the United States. and. after spending a
short vacation at my home in Marion Ind.
went to the Preside of San Francisco,
where I entered the Army Nurse Corps. l
was assigned, with several other nurses, to
accompany General Chaffee and the Sixth
United States Cavalry to the Philippines.
When we arrived in Nagasalli. Japan, Cen
eral Chaffee was informed of the Boxer up
rising in China. and received orders from
the War Department to proceed with all
possible haste to the scene of action. 1 was
in China during a part of the uprising,
serving in Pekin and Tien Tsin and ac-
companied General Chaffee to the Philip
pines, where it was originally intended we
should go direct and where l remained I'M
til last July.
The Siege of Pekin.
Telling of her experience in China, she
said:
I'VE nurses were in Tien Tsin during the
march of the allied forces and the siege Of
Pekin and treated the majority of all the
American soldiers who were wounded dur
ing the march and in the storm against the
city. All the wounded and sick soldiers
were sent to us from the line OF march
down the Pei Ho river to Tien Tsin. The
majority of the patients treated by us were
medical cases rather than surg1cal.s Our
boys suffered principally from heat exhaus-
ton, sunstroke, dysentery. and typhoid
fever. l remember we had two members
of the Boxer band for treatment.
After the battle of Yang Tsung we had
a great many surgical cases. During that
fight the Americans were quick to &C.
cupy a position from which they had driven
the Chinese that the English troopers did
not note the change and fired number Of
voileys, with telling effect AS soon as the
dreadful mistake was noticed, the British
general sent their surgeons to assist the
American doctors in caring for our boys
upon whom they had accidentally fired.
There were comparatively few men KILL
ed or wounded in the battle of Tung Chow.
After the fray was over the soldiers of the
allied forces looted the city, carrying away
SILK, silver, shoes, FUR ana jade.
Four Nations Represented.
Next the allies marched on Pekin. There
were only four nations represented in this
battle-the United States, Russia. Japan
and England-the forces Of Austria France,
Germany and Italy arriving after the city
had fallen. After the fall of the city went
there, where typhoid fever was prevalent
during the summer and pneumonia during
the winter and spring. The great amount
of pneumonia in China may be attributed
to the great dust storms. After each of
these storms a large number of guards
would be brought to the hospital suffering
from pneumonia.
While in Pekin 1 went Sightseeing Wis
iting the summer and winter palaces, the
Temple of Heaven the Forbidden City,
stood in the Center of the Universe and
reclined on the satin couch Of the emperor.
One thing l noticed was that the Chinese
emperor had an immense collection of musi-
cal instruments Of all kinds. civilized as
well as barbarous designs. There were al
ways two of everything. OF each kind of
chair l saw in the palaces there were two.
exactly alike, and there a surprising
number Of clock, two of each kind"
Experiences in Philippines.
Miss Kemmer has an abundance of remi-
niscences of the life of an army nurse in
the Philippines. Her descriptions Of the
death of many soldiers make one shudder.
During her services in the Philippines she
volunteered to care for two smallpox pa
tients in an isolation hospital. One of the
patients was the wife of an officer and the
other an enlisted man. Miss Kemmer had
never had the disease, but despite this she
offered her services. For this act she was
given special recognition in general orders
sent out from the War Department and
earned the title of Most heroic woman
nurse in the armV''