The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-10-24
RED CROSS WODMEN
HUNTFOR LLOST men
One Searcher Givees Interesting
Description of the Work
She Is DoDing.
eY FRANK :. TAYLOR.
United 2ress Staff Correspondents.

"A'| Wy bittl-CbS "Wco yeoN u hNoe
lar American girl, like e the nurses In
the hospital. but she w%asn't In nurses
uniform. She wore ann ordinar blue
dress. the kind ~aaybody1y's sister might
have ON back there i'm tfthe states.
Up inc down the wardrd she went, with
some bags in her hand,d. visiting every
patient. She had n few V words n smile
for each. All Of them 8 seemed to know
her. The new ones as ' well as the OH
ones.
With the intelligent man she had o
few words OF q more serious nature,
with the man from Italy y who'd lived but
a short time In New Yorbrk before joining
tue afmy, itHwas moststly slang. The
Russian, with his heajlj cracked, who
knew no French or Ensiglish, wanted to
shake hands.
So she slook hands anInd he felt better.
want anything" 6 she said. He
didn't understand, so shlle went through
he" rag showed hilini tooth paste,
shaving sticks, combs, brushes, cigar
cts. and he took the kiatter. He was
Sort Of ReeuIarlr Sister.
How do you feel tod,day?" she asked
the Frenchn,an in his o'own tongue. and
gave him a few wordsds. Everywhere
she seemed 10 have pleleaty of time to
visit, and she went up cIclose to the men
on the cots when she spoke to them,
X a sister 10 a brotother. No long
distance charity this.
Yet with all her Wrists she went
through the ward In very few mo-
ments. cheering up there negro dough-
boys as we'll as the whihites, and treat
ing everyone with equalal attention.
Forgot your toothbrush, did your
Ahe asked one man. you ought to
kno" better h halat. When you
come 10 n hospital you 4 can forget your
pass or anything else, but never your
toothbrush. Here's annother, I'll give
VIM AVID snY,'f ~, ny,,nrurhara xs,jfl,nnf
it." ''"' 81 ""s, where '
In two short hours shthe had made the
rounds OF q dozen wards, visiting
every patient. giving scsome little bags
with soap, wash cloths,s, tooth brushes
and other necessaries in them, chat
ing win all, and promisising to get Gig
nrets, writing paper, p,pencils Or what
not for numbers Of tRelem.
What's my job?" shhe repeated and
then replied to the quesestloner, oh. I'm
a Red Cross searcher. This isn't my
regular work. Going Thorough the wards
Cross sends me supplieies, though, and
It's lots of fun to visit t those chaps In
there, and they seem to o like it."
The Boys Like , Her.
The chaps In there'e' did, and you
could tell IL by their II faces as she
passed through AS well 4 as n Of them,
an English Tommy, didid with words
sA'I IN otiC III llHAi ~ lShIlCu
toward n bunkie and saiaid in unwritable
cookery say, she's a p peach. isn't she.
Just like a ray Of sunshihine when you're
In the trenches up to 0 your neck in
mud on a rainy day"
Come over to my office, II you
wish, and I'll explainIn what a Red
Cross searcher u.s." shEhe answered to
another question.
1t was n little wood,den office, neat
inside as only n womann could make it,
with w around. aand pictures on
the wall, pictures that / had nothing to
on the seats n chaiairs, and maya
zines on the table. tilt looked like a
den IN somebody's summer home.
ITS part OF the gamele to have a nice
office" she said, smiling" We want
tho boys 10 like TO comele u Any
way, / like 10 have a l nea office and
get pictures up that aiare nothing like
these war time Surroundings.
List of Missisins.
"Sce these lists. They're sent out by
the Red Cross office in I Paris, from the
homo and hospital s service branch.
These are men who naave been report
ed missing. The armmy is too busy
fighting m 10 I !uvestisate any
further about them. annd sends in this
report.
Put the mothers annd fathers and
sisters and brothers b back home are
not satisfied with the e word missing.
They want 10 Rnow moore, n we are
out here TO try to findrd out about the
missing boys. They'rere all classified
according 20 their organizations, you
see.
"W'hen n new bunch h of wounded OF
sick comes in here, II compare this
list with their organizations. Possibly
III find someone in thee same company
as one of these missinglg boyS. Then II
90 II talk to him and ] see II he knows
anything about the misissing lad. May
be it's ever so little, buut I'll send ii in
and maybe some othther searcher In
some other hospital wivill find the rest
Of the story from anotlther soldier. and
We can put the two [ together to ac-
count for he missing.
My first day out i here I found q
boy who told me of ;lalalf a dozen miss.
ing men mad on my list. They went
out together, five ~pprivates and q
sergeant. The man l talalked to thought
the five privates werere captured, blu,
he doubted the sergeant lived. He
hesitated hen ] askedsd him why, ant
1t was with great urgrging that l go'
him TO say, You see. , they went ou'
together, and Mex daiay we found q
hand with only three e fingers OF 1t
and the sergeant was I the only man In
the company who had d just three fin.
gers, so | don't thinlnk he's living
Mann
report vs. veIeFiteO.
Il turned in tie rapport n severa
weeks later it was cerertified by a re-
port TO the Red Crosses through the
Spanish legation in Gefermany. ry con.
stantly getting the boytys to tell stories
Of their comrades, Wee can piece the
stories of the missingg men together
and II they are safe. notify the par
ents. II they are killedsd We try to ge'
the story of It, and let their folks
know by letter. The ARMY doesn't have
time for details, 30 we try to gel
them.
That's Just part ofof the work, OF
course. We try to CONNECT the hospita
with the homes. whthen patients die
here. 4 write letters to I the parents, and
give them a sympathdhetic account OF
boys last days. We telegraph abou'
death. which takes piaiaee here, as ths
army does from the frfront. i:
I'm make weekly Reports to the folh
back home on very iM patients. and
write letters FOR the on,nes who are toe
Ill to do It. I had an n interesting ex-
perience OF that type , this afternoon
A corporal very. very Y weak and JUS
operated upon, told neie his pal on the
next bed wanted me to o write n letter.
Corporal On 1.-THE Job.
II got some paper arnd eat down b!
the pal to write what t he gave me.
asked him whom he wsvanted 1t written
to. He hesitated BEAUTIFULLY. The cor.
L novoI ctrrooltrr IN raiSa hinQalf