The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1914-12-04


They Go to War, and Their Return,
Although ~Disfisured, Is Occasion For
Great Joy-One Said, "i'm Not Dis
figured; I'm Decorated"
Calais.-"You can't imagine the Joy
OF mothers and fathers when their
boys come back TO them from the war
minus an arm or a leg or some other
portion Of their bodies. Human nature
Is a queer thing. and war brings this
queerness into strong relief" says one
OF the American correspondents now at
the front.
ii witnessed the arrival of a Red
Cross train here. The cars were loaded
with young men fresh from the Bel
gian border. A soldier | talked to said.
We gave them hell. | tell you-but we
caught a few pellets ourselves
From the looks of them they had
indeed. Some hobbled out OF the cars,
their arms In slings or their heads tied
up or a foot of the ground; others
came on s%tretchers to be transferred TO
the channel steamers waiting at the
dock. One soldier limped out on the
platform. His head was bandaged all
around so unanimously that he couldn't
wear his car.
"One arm was In u sling; the hand
was bandaged In a way betokening the
absence OF one or more fingers.
"Near by stood a She was
looking for some one. Suddenly the
much bandaged soldier saw the woman
and started. With an in%articulate
sound. partly smothered by the ban
dages, he touched the woman.
"She uttered a cry and seached eager
ly the bandaged face. Apparently her
mother love. rather than her eyes, told
her Ii was her boy.
my son my SOM she exclaimed,
e%nraptured. A Red Cross surgeon
stepped up.
Madam he said, your son un
doubtedly will recover, but | must tell
you that most OF his jaw is shot away
"'Oh, I'm so glad, so glad!' the
mother cried. tears streaming from her
eyes.
- see that sort OF thing many times
daily the surgeon said. When n moth
er sees her boy march away TO war
she gives him up for dead, she scarce
ly hopes even In her mother heart OF
hope ever to see her boy alive again
Always she lives In dread OF the day
uhan tho hrfaf announnamant ~ tho
dead will contain the name OF her boy.
So at last, when her boy comes back
TO her 1t doesn't matter how terribly
he Is shot up or disfigured. 1t is the
same with mothers everywhere. any
time
There Is another cause for a moth
er's JOY when her son returns manned
broken physically, but alive. She
knows the boy cannot return to the
battle line, a mark for bullets and
shrapnel that XIII.
! There Is another strange thing TO be
noted while talking to the wounded.
They are quite happy TO have bad
wounds about the face and head, much
: preferring disfiguring face wounds to
; lesser wounds I'm body or legs.
"A train of wounded was on Its way
to southern France. When Ii halted
at Boulogne those Of the wounded who
were able got out to walk up and
down the platform. Among these was
one whose face could hardly be called
by that name. One eye was gone. the
other was badly swollen until he could
hardly see. Bandages covered all but
d~iscolored parts OF his face.
"'You poor dear sympathized an
Englishwoman who approached him
timidly. You poor. poor boy
Madam replied the soldier with as
much pride and clearness as the band
ages would permit, don't pity me.
Pity nay friends In the train there who
got II where 1t won't show
"The Englishwoman couldn't under
stand.
"'Why-why-why,' she stammered,
4 thought you wouldn't like to be dis
figured
"D~isfguredr the soldier replied, Pm
not disfigured; I'm decoratedp"