The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-08-16
FIRST CALL
BY
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Author Of
over THE TOP"

y
CHAPTER III.
(COntinued.)
TIME men Of the hospital corps arc
nOn.conbatants They aA doing
= noble work II is all right to be
under lire and come in direct contact
with the enemy, provided you ate
equipped with arms to defend yourself
10 iniliet injury on the foe the feel"
OF them always gives you a feeling oi
confidence A medical man carries no
weapons yet he goes out at the risk
Of hib lie to bring you in when
wounded
The medical unit attached 10 your
regiment will share the hardShps and
dangers OF the irOnt-line trench with
you. To help them out, men from each
platoon will either volunteer or be de.
tailed as retcher-bearers They are
given a course in first aid 10 iit them
for this work
Their duties are TO 20 "oyer the top
with their platoons and bring in the
wounded They carry the wounded TO
the advanced dressing or ilrH-aid
stations
At this point the medical corps prom
er takes them and transports them by
alnbulances to the casually clearing sta
tlons. ambulance field companies field
hospitals, base hospitals, etc, until the
casualties reach their proper dcstlna-
tons Mr. Medical Man, you arc
regular fellow
What Signal Corps Does.
On the western front the signal corps
il always busy night and day,-in fact
without the signal corps, trench war
fare would be an impossibility. This
corps constructs, maintains, and re-
pairs lines OF communication No mat
ter where YOU 20 on the western front
the work Of the signal corps is always
IN evidence. Behind the lines you will
sec them constructing overhead tele-
graph and telephone lines, busy as bees
running here and there, wigwagsing
iIags. semaphoring, or sitting OIL the
ground with little square boxes be.
tween their knees and receivers at their
ears. To the average civilian they may
appear 10 have suddenly gone crsEy
but every wave OF that flag, every
move OF the arm, every NOISE Of the
buzzer means something important III
the directing OF the campaign As you
gradually near the front-line sector,
overhead wires become fewer and few
er, until, excepting in isolated cases
they absolutely disappear. Your sig
mailer ceases TO be an overhead man
he IS now a digger OF dltches.
Watch for Wells.
Look out for the signal corps men
when you go into the artillery zone
whete your guns are situated II you
aren't very careful IN crossing an
open field you will stumble over a sig
nal wire, breaking the eircrit, and in
a very few minutes = couple OF signal
corps men will appear IN the distance
and will land on you like a ton Of
bricks.
Enter trench,-you will notice
many wires strung along the walls and
men constantly repairing them. Per
haps In the dark you will stumble over
ono OF these wires, which has become
detached and has fallen across the
trench. You trip and pitch headlong
INTO ABOUT tnTcc icct OF solt Uluu. Aitd
the splash Of your fall, while trying to
clear your eyes and ears from mud, a
sarcastic voice will greet you What's
the matter. are you blindA Can't you
see those blooming wires' You have
busted the circuit OF Observation POST
No. ll679lG3 \. y Q, and Battery No.
l8oxl74J =. u. O." N course, you
know what the sigpaler is taking
about-snyway do not argue with him,
because he has very wonderful yo-
cabulsry and il will only be a short
time before YOU arc completely
"gassed"
Chances for Honor.
In every signal corps there are many
opportunities afforded for the mem
bers to distinguish themselves indi-
yidually, thus winning recommenda-
ton for mention in dispatches" or
medals Of honor. At night when the
German trenches have been raided by
bombing parties, numbering from fifty
to two hundred and fifty or more. ]
have seen signal corps men, equipped
with field telephone and buzIer, 20 over
with the raiders and establish and
keep open communication between the
bombing squad and our own front-line