The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-11-10

ant, tired little man with a great bur-
oen 10 bear and not much OF an idea
about how to bear it. He struck me
as an individual who would conscien.
tiously do his best in any situation. but
Wouid never do or say anything with
the slightest suspicion of q punch TO il
A few days after his visit to the hos.
pital saw in the Official London Ga.
zette that had been awarded the dis.
tinguished conduct medal. Official let.
ters from the Canadian Headquarters
amplified this information and q no.
tice from the British war office inform.
ed me that the medal awaited me there
was told the king knew that the
medal had been awarded to me when
he spoke to me In the hospital De.
spite glowing reports in the Kentucky
press he didn't pin it on me. Probably
he didn't have it with him, or perhaps
he didn't consider it good form to hang
a D. G. NJ. OH suit of striped presenta-
tion pajamas with prevailing tone of
baby blue.
While was in the King George hos.
pital I witnessed one Of the most won.
derful examples of courage and pluck
L have ever seen. A young Scot only
nineteen years old, McAuley by name,
had had the greater part Of his face
blown away. The surgeons had patch.
ed him up in some fashion, but he was
horribly disfgured. He was the bright.
est, merriest man in the ward, always
Joking and never depressed. His own
terrible misfortune was merely the top
ic for humorous comment with him
He seemed to get positive amusement
out Of the fact that the surgeons were
always sending for him to do some
thing more with his face. One day he
was going into the operating room and
a fellow patient asked him what the
new operation was to be.
"Oh," he said, I'm going to have q
cabbage put on in place>of q head
It'll grow better than the one I have
nOw."
once In a fortnight he would man.
age to get leave to absent himself from
the hospital for an hour or two. he
never came back alone. 1t took q
couple Of men to bring him In. On the
next morning he would say:
"Well, 1t was my birthday. A man
must have a few drinks on his birth
day."
l was discharged from the hospita
in the middle of February and sent t.
a comfortable place at Hastings. Sus
sex, where 1 lived until my furlougl
papers came through. 1 had fin,
time in London at the theaters ans
clubs pending my departure for home
When my furlough had arrived 1 wen
to Buxton, Derbyshire, where the Ca
madam discharge depot was located
and was provided with transportation
to Montreal. I came back to Americ,
on the Canadian Pacific Royal Mai
steamer Metagama, and the trip wa
without incident of any sort. We la,
for a time in the Mersey, awaitin,
word that our convoy was ready to Sc,
us ont Of the danger zone, and a de
strOyer escorted us 400 miles on oul
way.
was informed before my departure
that commission as lieutenant in the
Canadian forces awaited my return
from furlough, and had every inten
ton Of going back to accept it, but
since I got to America things have hap
pened. Now it's the army Of Uncle
Sam for mine. I've written these sto
ries to show what we are up against
It's going to be tough game and @
bloody one and sorrowful one fol
many, but it's up to us to save the
issue where it's mostly right on one
side and all wrong on the Other-and
I'm glad we're in. I'm not willing to
quit soldering now, but will be when
we get through with this. Because
when we finish up with all this there
won't be any necessity for soldering
The world will be free Of war for a
long, long time, and a Gods mercy
that.