Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1918-07-04


nal, to join the U. S. Army and &C
abroad He is a private with Hospi-
tai Train No SO, somewhere in France
We hope to give our readers more of
his letters as he is able to present
the true conditions over there as far
as he able under the censorship rules
Sunday, May 26, 1918
France.
My Dearest Mother:-
| have time today to sit down and
write you a real honest to goodness
letter Up to a week ago we were
being shifted around at rate that
made US dizzy, but now we have our
train and are waiting in a beautiful
part of France for orders to go up.
When | last wrote you we were in
a rest camp resting up from the trip
across. Since then we have taken a
long jump to another part of the
country where we were assigned to
our train, and from there to what is
called a "train garage" conveniently
near our point of operation.
| have never had the opportunity
to tell you about our train, which is
like a number of others, the United
States is operating in France, These
trains are bought by the American
Red Cross, made in England, and
operated by the government with
regular hospital train units.
They are made up of 16 vestibule,
steel coaches and are the finest things
on wheels Uncle Sam certainly
is taking care of his wounded. The
rain has 384 patient berths, all of
them containing soft mattresses,
fieecy blankets, and real pillows.
The interior of the patient car is done
in white enamel and is equipped with
ingenious ventilators and electric
fans, among other things, for the
comfort of the wounded Then there
is a car devoted to a dispensary that
carries a bigger stock than the aver
age drug store, offices, an operating
room for emergencies, two dinning
and cook cars, a personel car for
the men, fixed up as nicely as any of
the others, a store car, and an officers
car. All ears that are not finished in
white are in mahagony and rose
wood Completely equipped train
represents an outlay of $500,000.
They are simply rolling palaces and
when a wounded Sammy is placed
aboard at some evacuation hospital
at the front, bound either for some
base hospital in the rear, or to some
port, where he can be sent back, he
knows that everything that can be
done for him is being done.
] wish that every person in the
big hospitals of the American Red
Cross. Then they would realize
what the Red Cross is really doing
l remember that | often heard the
remark in the states that it was hard
to understand why the huge sums
asked by the organization were needed
The bandage units and branches that
you are familiar with is but one
activity
Situated, as we are, in what Is
probably the most beautiful part OF
France, (at this moment | can lool
out of the window and see a scene
that would make you gasp for the
sheer beauty of IT'D | am hardly IL
the mood to tell you what I can Of
the war today. Even in the shor-
time | have been here | have seer
enough to sicken me of the whole
bloody mess. You have read, un
doubtedly, hundreds of stories of ;
nation in mourning, of the thousand
upon thousands crippled and useles
through wounds and of the devasta
ton. I have seen just enough o
that to know that the story has no
been written by half. [ wish | coul
tell you the number of American
in France, from what | have see
and what | have been told by thos
who are in position to know.
know that would make you happ.
There are constructional projects {
a permanent character going up a
over the country-all built with tn
dollars and energy of the Unite
States that are simply amazing.
But l am going to get as far ava
from the war this morning as | po
sibly can, and tell you about tn
wonderful valley. Just to illustra
that France is worth fighting for.
I am looking out of the office Wi
dow now In meadow that is almo
blue with heavy clover is herd
white cattle (the cattle of Fran
are all white it seems.) Beyond