Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-12-05
DecOrah Doctor Member Medical
Officers Training Camp Gives
Interesting Description of
Life in Camp.
SEVERAL OTHER DECORAHIANS
ARE AT THIS CAMP
saw Several DEBORAH Boys at Fort
Riley and Says He is Very
Proud of Them.
CONTINUED from first page,


ten, only in history, we wonder if af-
ter all culture of this royal is not
insanity; at least We have reached a
point when we are willing to admit
that the common people (not the
kultured) must and shall rule the
earth.
Our work here has been partly
afield or advance line work. Being
commissioned officers we were train
ed to command the sanitary and sur
glcal end of this war We were put
in line and given all the drills the
same as enlisted men, and every few
minutes would be called out of the
lines to give the commands ourselves.
In few days each was detached to
a small squad and an experienced in
structor watched with a critical eye
while you made mistakes. The drill
was carried on two hours each day.
Four hours each day was devoted to
lectures on all the subjects of war
Books were scarce, and the neces-
sary forms we were unable to get, so
it was daily custom for the instruc-
tors to hold up blank requisition or
some other form and shout at us.
This is form "a, l would like to give
each Of you one; but this is the only
one in print and we don't know when
We will get another
The same applied to lots of our
text books. The lecturer would hold
up a volume and shout, this is
Manual of Courts Martial, sorry we
don't have a greater number" and he
would wave it at u.s. am of the opin-
ion the thickness of the volume gov
erned the number of times he would
wave it, and invariably he would
close by saying you will have
written examination in this Friday
morning"
We have had a touch of experience
in handling every known kind of war
fare from the closed trenches, now
! in vogue in Europe, to the open eX-
tended movement of the American
army. We are taught to ride horses
over the toughest country and in the
most difficult places. / have met sew
eral boys from the old town. A few
days ago a slight fair boy of about ! s
years stepped up and saluted. l recog-
nized him and he said, don't you
was compelled to say am sorry do
not. Then IL his backward way he
told me who he was, then / was able
to say. Eyes l was present when you
arrived in this world and | truly
hope / may not be present when you
fall out" | shook his hand and had
a good laugh with him, he was proud
of his uniform AID a real soldier boy
i went to call on him few days
later and learned he had been trans
ferred to some other fort.
Besides Drs. Jewell and Conrad
we have here two other DEBORAH boys
that | am proud of. They were our
orderlys a few days ago in Dig
division battle, and they surely can
ride like the storm. Once l noticed
one of their horses was covered with
foam, and suggested he watch him.
The reply quickly came, 1T does him
good" and away he flew bounding
over the hills with another message.
Our three months training is up
Dec. 3, when we will be assigned to
actual work as surgeons at some hos
pital or camp A large per cent of us
will never reach France owing to
the great demand for us here. We
need ten thousand more doctors, and
why the younger medical men do not
step forward / cannot understand
is il a yellow streak, lack of patri-
otism or just selfishness.
Today is Thanksgiving and | take
time to write this letter as we have
10 work to do. Yesterday l was at
Ambulance Co. 16. The mess ser
geant had bought ten thanksgiving
turkeys the day before, so the boys
had long strings tied to their legs CIV
ing them exercise (they said. the
great bronze birds were greatly
frightened and flew to the top or the
barracks and tents, where they were
carefully pulled back to earth aga II.
| say carefully, because many mad
very doubtful strings, and am sure IL
would be a court martial offense to
loose. or let escape, so valuable
bird. so you see everything has to
take exercise here.
When I first came here Kelley"
had a mess kitchen, in the open; ne
was a most wonderful COOK II Is
told Of him that he could take on an
extra FIVE hundred" for a meal upon