The Benson signal. [volume] (Benson, Cochise County, Ariz.) 1915-1921, 1918-10-26
Odd Mark Made by Two Pieces
of ShrapneI From "Whizz
Bang"
SERGEANT REFUSES. TO Die
Put on Liquid Diet Because of Dan
cerous Wound, He Steals Food
From "Joy Cart"-His Good
Cheer Keeps Patients in
Best of Humor.

Paris.-All life long Private Jean
Fournan of New York city will carry
cross on his back as souvenir Of
the great war. The wound that has
marked him is so unusual that he is
known at American Military Hospital
No. i, where he is now convalescing,
as the "Red Cross Man." and doctors,
nurses and patients have watched his
case with unusual interest.
FOurnan is q member of one Of the
American regiments recently engaged
In the fighting near scissors and
Fishes. He has been in France since
last October and went through "sev-
eral kinds Of hell'' on several fronts
without a scratch. And then, one
morning a short time ago, just as his
company went over the top headed
for Boche machine gun nest,
"whizz bang" knocked him out. He
had momentary singing sensation
American sanitary train, from which
he was taken by ambulance to the hos
pital.
When he was carried to the Operat
ing room the surgeon looked him over
and then called the other doctors to
come and look. The boy had been hit
by two pieces of shrapnel, one Of
which had gone down his back so close
to his spine that only miracle saved
him from paralysis. The other had
crossed at right angles, leaving the
mark Of a perfect cross on his back.
Fournan has those pieces Of shrapnel
in his Red Cross treasure bag. He
says they're "lucky pieces" because,
they "only left scar"
Thoroughly Americanized.
When Private Fournan is well
enough to be discharged from the hos
pital he means to spend several days
in the south of France, where he was
born But after the war is over he
is going back to New York city to his
adopted country, where he has lived
for 10 years. He is so thoroughly
AmericaniZed that he prefers fighting
with American troops, with whom he
trained at Camp Syracuse.
Just by chance the American in the
next bed to Fournan is of German
parentage. Frank He'll, Columbus,
o. reads the card at the head of
his bed, and the corporal admits that
his name is as German as it sounds.
An uncle who lives in Texas was so
pro-German that he disowned He'll
when he enlisted for service. He'll
felt that he had to live down his name,
and so it was that he earned his cor
porals chevrons shortly after he had
gone into training He wears two
service stripes now, and he boasts that
it took three machine gun bullets to
knock him out the day he was
wounded.
He was fighting near scissors when
he get his" His company had been
entrenched on hill slope that over
looked valley of wheat fields beyond
which the Germans were hiding in the
woods of another slope. He'll and his
men had managed to cross the valley
by running short distances at top
speed and then dropping for a breath
ing space into the wheat. Just as he
started up the slope two bullets hit
him, one in the thigh, the other below
the knee of his left leg, and as he fell
a third struck the big muscle in his
right forearm, so completely paralyzing
it that he had to jerk his rifle loose
with his left hand
Interested in "Eats."
Toi11 ro1Iipo ox-or j,+o n
shell hole, where he lay for hours be-