El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-06

and so carefully have they been re-
crulied from among Intelligent men.
that in all their three years Of fight
ing not one has been killed and not
I one ever deserted his car Ambulance
] Corps men have been gravely wound
ed, have lost legs or arms or hands or
feet but death never has overtaken
one of them. The record has been
duplicated by no other service.
After the wounded are put into an
ambulance, the two members Of the
American Ambulance Corps who are
IN charge OF the car take il to the
first field hospital. which usually is
from three to ten miles Of the first
aid post The road these men traverse
with their wounded runs generally
through AT least mile. sometimes for
three or four miles, through shell fire
area. On the same road come all the
food reserves, ammunition and sup
plies TO the men in the trenches. and
the German airmen and spies have
given the German gunners the exact
location Of these roads.
The woods about them are shat
tered and bleak Great shell holes
peck the borders Of the road. and
gangs OF men in steel helmets Ito shed
shra7neD work up and down the road
filling up the shell holes, clearing
away dead horses-either gassed or
bombed-removing the debris OF shat
tered trucks and making the way as
clear as possible for the never endin-
stream Of wagons and cars bearing
food for the cannon and for the men
beyond. who also feed the cannon with
their flesh and bones and slack its
feverish thirst with their blood
Ambulance Has Right OF Way.
Down these roads from hell the am
bulance drivers take their wounded
They have the right Of way over
everyt hing-eNcept ammunition, for
the cannon always is clamoring for
his food
The 500 men who fill the American
Ambulance Corps are divided into IL
sections. Forty or fifty men in each
section live in such tents, barracks.
stables or reconstructed houses in
ruined towns as they can find just
beyond the she'll fire zone They are
in charge Of two officers one
French Lieutenant. who tells them
when and where TO go. the other their
own chief who tells which or them
TO 20 when their lieutenant calls for
men.
The French army feeds them. which
means a French cook. who always is
a 10Y and the American Red Cross for
a year and more has been adding TO
the French army ration a franc and a
half for extras. and the men have eX-
cellent food. plenty OF meat. milk,
bread. Jam. cheese and eggs. In their
headquarters they live in no particu-
lar danger. unless the Germans find
that a particularly large French gun
is nearby and strain for it BY a long
throw. or unless the headquarters
happens to be near big field hospi-
tai then when the Germans lose
hill or fail in an attack they vent
their wrath by sending an airman
over 10 raid a hospital
French Hospitals Bombed.
After a recent kick-u7 at Verduu.
in which the Germans lost their last
important hill, four French hospitals
hmm he'd EfHNFr7-~ dnrHnwz
and wounded, and the ambulance boys
nearby were saved only because they
had no great Red Cross emblems on
their roofs as the hospitals had.
Nothing makes a German so angry
after a defeat as a Red Cross sign.
But the French are wise. They began
keeping German wounded in their
field hospitals. knowing that the Ger
man spies would report it and that
then the French wounded would be
safe So far IL has worked
These 500 American youths who op-
crate in the Is sections OF the Ameri-
can Ambulance Corps are under the
leadership OF Richard Norton Of Cam
bridge. Mass He has an office at No.
Z Rue Francois Premier i'm Paris but
he is In the office little Of the time.
Generally he lives in the field with
the men. and the success Of the corps
is due greatly 10 the care which he
has used in recruiting his men Ninety
Per cent Of them are college men. and
most Of them are young men. the few
who are beyond military age are men
Of affairs men Of independent for
tunes who have a desire to serve
Since the draft age has been de-
cided upon in America the recruits for
the Ambulance Corps have come from
men who for merely technical reasons
say a defective eve, a flat foot the
less o. a finger or toe. OF for a few
years under or over the age limit. Z
Y ould not be accepted in the armv
Working IN the Field.
After the men were chosen for the
service they were carefully trained
and then sent to the various sections
under experienced chiefs. The dis
ringuishinE difference in field oDera- !
tons between the American Ambu-