American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-09-04

ant. tired little man With a great u
den to bear and not much OF an loea
about how to zeal It. He struck me
as an individual who would conscien-
tiously do his best in any situation, put
would never do or say anything WIN
the slightest suspicion Of a punch to IT,
A few days after his visit to the nos
pital I saw in the Ofhcial London Ga
zette that | had been awarded the dis
tinguished conduct medal. Ohcial let-
tiers from the Canadian headquarters
amplihed this Information, II a no
tlce 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
be didn't have it with him, or perhaps
he didn't consider it good form to hang
a d. c. NJ. on a suit of striped presenta-
ton pajamas with a prevailing tone OF
baby blue.
While / was in the King George hos
/ Ulldl L Mliltcotu Oht VI Aht A'N 49,
derful examples Of courage and pluck
| 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
] s.Itv-. .vI anvnr donragCn1 He nNVn
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 o
cabbage put on in place Of a head
It'll grow better than the n l 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 {
couple of men to bring him in. On the
next morning he would say:
well, It was my birthday. A mai
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 | lived until my furlougl
papers came through. | had a fin
time In London at the theaters AM
clubs pending my departure for home
When my furlough had arrived | wen
to Buxton, Derbyshire, where the Ca
madam discharge depot was located
and was provided with transportatiO
to Montreal. l came back to Americ
!. on the Canadian Pacific Royal Ma.
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 out Of the danger zone, and a d.
: strOyer escorted us 400 miles on GU
way.
: l was informed before my departul
> that a commission as lieutenant in til
Canadian forces awaited my retur
from furlough, and l had every inter
ton Of going back to accept 1t, bU
since l got to America things have hal
: pened. Now it's the army of Unc
Sam for mine. I've written these st,
ries to show what we are up agains
: It's going to be a tough game and
= bloody one and a sOrrowful one f,
= many, but it's up to us to save Il
= issue where it's mostly right on oil
side and all wrong on the other-ar
. I'm glad we're m. I'm not willing
= quit soldering now, but 1 will be wht
u we get through with this. Becaui
when we finish up with all this the
l. won't be any necessity for soldierin
o. The world will be free Of war for
9 long, long time, and a Gods mer,
" that.
= END.