El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-07-21


ing in Belgium and on the Somme where
he was desperately wounded This final
fustalmeut describes his journey 20 the
rear with % pieces OF shrapnel In one leg
and his meeting q the king in a London
hospital
WAS taken from Poizers to Albert
in Ford ambulance, OF, as the
Il Tommies would say, a -tin Lizzie.
The man VINO drove this vehicle would
make a good chauffeur for an adding
machine. Apparently, he was count
ing the bumps in the road for he
didn't miss one Of them. However,
the trip was ouI va matter of seven
miles. and I was in fair condition
when they lifted me out and carried
me to an operating table in the field
dressing station.
a chaplain came along and muir
INJURED a little prayer iu my ear I
imagine that would have made a man
feel very solemn II he had thought
there was a chance he was about 10
pass out. but I know I merely had q
Lex pretty badly smashed up, and,
while the chaplain was pray ing was
wondering II they would have TO cut
Il off i figured, If So tlis would
handicap my dancing
Being Properly IuOculated-
The first Formally i'm shrapnel
case is the administration Of an anti
Ietanus incubation. and. when il IS
done, YOU realize that they are sure
trying 10 save your life. The doctor
uses q horse syringe, and the injection
leaves a lump on your chest as big
as a baseball. which stays with you
IS hours After the injection, q nurse
fills out q diagnosis blank with a
description of your wounds and
record of your name age. regiment,
regimental number, religion. parent
age, and previous history as far as
she can discover 1t without asking
questions which would be positively
indicate After all of that my
wounds were given their first real
dressing
Immediately after this was done. I
was bundled into another am bulance
this time a CadiIlaC-and driven To
Contay where the G. C. s. casually
clearing statiou) and rallhead were
located. in the ambulance with me
were three other soldiers, an arCil-
lery officer and two privates Of in
fantry- We were all Llcketed or as
sErapueI cases and probable recOv-
cries, which latter detail is remark
able. since the most slightly injured
in the four had y wounds, and there
were SO odd shell fragments or shrap-
mel balls collectively lmbedded in US
The nurse had told me that had about
20 wounds. Afterward her count
proved conservative More accurate
and later returns showed - bullets
and shell fragments were in my leg
They took these out and presented
them to me- 7 have been giving them
away for souvenirs
"A Sacrifice Battery
We were fairly comfortable in the
ambulance. and 7. especially, had
great relief from the fact that the
nurse had strapped my leg in q sling
attached TO the top of the vehicle
We smoked cisarets and chatted
cneerfully, exchanging congratul
tons on having got clean ones that
is. wounds not probably fatal The
artillery officer told me he had been
supporting our battalion. that morn
ing. with one Of the sacrifice bat
teries-"
A sacrifice battery, 7 might ex-
plain. is one composed Of field pieces
% hiCh are emplaced between the front
and support lines and which, in case
of an attack or counter attack, are
fired at point-blank range They
call them sacrifice batteries because
some Of them are wiped out every
day
This officer said our battalion, that
morning had been supported by an
entire division Of artillery, and that
on our front Of 400 yards the IS
Founders. alone, in a curtain fire
which lasted 80 minutes, had dis
charged 5000 rounds Of high eXplo-
Many Germans Missed.
was impressed by his statement, .
OF course, but I told him that while
this was an astonishing lot Of am
muniuon. IL was even more surprls- !
ing 70 have noticed at close range, Z
as 7 did. the number OF Germans they I
missed
Toward the end Of our trip to Con
tay. we we're much exhausted and 1
pretty badly shaken up. We were be I
rsaA naHrn E.
no means out Of the woods, surgically- Z
our wounds had merely been dressed .
Zach Of us faced an extensive and F.
serious operation We arrived at Con B
tay- silent and pretty badly depressed .
For "a hours IN the C0ntaE casualty .
clearing station, they did little except .
feed Us and take our tempera lures .
hourly. Then we were put into hos
pital train for RoUen-
Germans Bomb Hospital Train
ri ght here I would like TO tell .
little story about a hospital train .
leaving Contay for Rouen-nOt the one .
we were on but one which had left
few DAYS before The train, when IL .
was just ready 10 depart with full .
quota Of wounded men. was attacked f.
by German airplaues from which .
bombs were dropped upon it, There /
is nothing. apparently, that makes I
the Germans so fearless and ferociOus I
as the Red Cross emblem.
On the top Of each of the cars in .
this train there was a Red Cross big
enough to be seen from miles in the
air The German ayiatOrs accepted Z
them merely as excellent targets
Their bombs quickly knocked three I
or four cars from the rails and killed .
several Of the helplessly wounded I
men. The rest Of the patients. weak
and nervous from recent shock and f
injury, some Of them half delirious
and nearly all of them absolutely
helpless and in pain, were thrown
into near panic.
Sisters Cool in Panic.
Two Of the nursing sisters in charge .
Of the train were the coolest indiyid- F.
uals present They walked calmly up 3
and down its length, urging the pa
tients TO remain quiet, directing the I
male attendants how TO remove the |
wounded men safely from the wrecked /.
cars and paying no attention what
ever to the bombs which were still I
exploding near the train. 7 did not .
have the privilege of witnessing this
scene myself but 7 know that 7 have
accurately described il. for the details .
were told fin an official report when .
the king decorated the two sisters
with the Royal Red Cross for valor in 4
the face Of the enemy
The trip from Contay 10 EOuen was
uightmare-26 hours travelling $50 I
miles on a train, when was forever
stopping and starting. its IerkE and I
uncertain progress meaning 10 us just
hours and hours of suffering
Wounded Well Cared For
do not know whether this part OF
the system for the removal of
wounded has been improved now
Then. its inconvenience and 1mper-