Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-11-07
REAL EXCITEMENT
FOR TRUCK Driver
Worked With Surgeons In Alb.
sence of Nurses-shelled By
German Big Guns.
By an American Red Cross Driver
Written for the United Press,

convoy that l took up to the front
when the Germans were advancing to-
ward Paris. We left Paris at mid
night. the trucks loaded with food.
medical supplies and blankets. AL
though there was heavy movement
along the roads, we plugged along all
night without many delays until 5
o'clock in the morning. when we
came 10 Il dead stop.
Artillery. transport camions, soldiers
and refugees blocked the way. We
couldn't go a yard farther. Our ord
ers were to go to n with the
supply stuff; but we couldn't have
done it without an airplane.
The army was moving and the little
space it left in the roadway was oc-
cupied by the refugees. They came
streaming back in every sort Of con-
veyance or on foot, pushing their be-
longlngs in barrows and hand carts.
Up ahead somewhere the guns were
drumming a long. ceaseless roll.
With ~ off the map, as it
where there was a hospital in an old
chateau. In this We're 60 wounded
American soldiers and about 200
French. There We're two American
army surgeons and a few French and
English nurses.
That afternoon we evacuated the
americans from the hospital and
maae ,o shem all comfortable Portable in their
that we drove back to A. and
turned in, because we looked forward
to a hard day.
But at 2 a. m. a French general
walked me up with the announcement
mat the We're advancing and
that the hospital had to be completely
evacuated in 10 minutes. He made
1t very clear it would have to be
selves in No Mans Land. So l turned
the men out and we went to work
in h dark.
AS a matter Of fact those 10 min
utes stretched until after 6. o'clock,
when we carried the last of the
men out. Some Of them
were IN a bad way, and had to be
our camions and took them to the
Ose canal, when transferred to bar.
ges. they were conveyed to Paris.
They left the hospital with only two
american army the Red
cross personnel. and a French chap
lain. The American looked
ABOUT the place rather 1onesomely, but
going to happen, and that before long
tnere'd be plenty Of work for eyery-
body. The guns laundering all around
us seemed to bear him out. And he
made no mistake.
Plenty Of Wounded.
The very next afternoon several
American army ambulances wheeled
up with loads of English and French
They had hurried down from
tne dressing stations and
most OF them were in bad shape.
AVfhnV1rh th4W~ ~AA 49, -. .S
OF us. we hustled about and got the
hospital going again somehow, and
started to take care of the wounded.
Inere Were no nurses about the place,
none IN the town, SO the drivers Of the
Red Cross camions volunteered. There
wasn't one who had ver done nursing,
and the stiff part. of it was that so
many Of the wounded were in such
condition that operation without delay
was vital.
me w American surgeons started
operating at 1880 and were at it at 3
IN the morning. Vel say 1--WE" be-
cause everyone had to do his bit-per-
FORMED IL major operations, and every
one successful!
Only n set of Instruments had been
lett behind, and as there wasn't time
to sterilize them Ivy boiling each time.
we had to pour alcohol over them. Six
indie stuck in their own wax to a
board furnished the only light for the
surgeons. 1 held the board. AS they
worked. 1 moved It around SO they
might have the mos! light on the prob
ing. or setting or saving or whatever
there was to be done. Three Of the
operations were trephanning of the
skull. Another of the soldiers had So
pieces of she'll in hin; and every one
was located and taken out by candle
light 1t was a busy Wight. Luckily at
midnight another American surgeon
arrived n relieved at the operating
table. The worst par. Of it was that
ether knocked out mos! Of our drivers;
SO that at last there were only two
Of us left to bear a hind.
In the morning we eve cuated the hos
pital, taking the wounded to G.
where there were ample. facilities.
Then we were out right to work
getting out Of Town the refugees who
had accumulated there for several
days. s was subject to air raid
every clear night. SO we had to sleep
In the cellar Of the great chateau. The
bombs bursting about thA place made
rest almost impossible.
When The last Of the lefugees had
been transferred to a nfgl,boring rail-
wa station. ord came that the Ger
mans had dropped q 240 on the train at
R.. a few kilometers away So
we hustled two camions over there and
found four men killed and Ave
For two OF three days we were again
caring for refugees who were stream
Ing toward the haven Of Paris by the
thousands.
In Hot Corner.
Soon the trucks. were ordsyed to
swing northward to s. f1ne
French had been there. but had re-
treated to stra!ghten out their line
Gernaans began Smelling the place.
finally driving out the entire civilian.