The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1918-07-09
AMERICAN BOYS
ARE UNDAuNT.ED
IN MISFORTUNE

WASHINGTON, July 9-The list
OF casualties from the American army
fighting in France is being balanced
by returning convalescents whose
numbers in the reconstruction centers
like the Walter Reed hospital here
have reached an appreciate total
1t is an outstanding fact to all OBJ
servers that an American youth
smashed by a shell, bomb or hand
grenade is, Notwithstanding, exactly
the same kind of an individual he was
before he went in. High spirited, mis-
chieyous. all personal loss discounted
and humanity anxious to resume the
dull round Of civilian labor. they have
a tendency to regard the carefully
planned hospital school for re-educat
ing them to usefulness with the same
distastc that healthy youth has for
the training establishments. however
desirable he may know them to be.
So chance visitor to a hospital
expecting to discover hero is apt
to find Il proportion of youths whose
clothes have been taken away from
them to compel them to stay in their
beds They are likely to be calculat-
inH intelligcntly their chances to
shirk irksome torture Whatever ad-
venture and torture they have lived
through is forgotten while their force
and energy are eneirely devoted 10 the
problem Of today.
Yes. they are most healtfAes and
normal human beings, undepressed
and entirely unworried about any
thing explained Major Cotton. one
OF the chiefs of orthOpedic surgery at
Walter Reed" We find these are not
i'll people. Their mental and physical
vigOr is most astonishing, to persons
not familiar with the circumstances"
II is requiring "A continuation OF
military discipline and considerable
patience and persistence to work out
on this material the far-sighted plans
for teaching manned men new and
productive trades. The massage, by
drOtherpy. and electric Treatment
to restore wasted muscle and shrunk
EN- limb are regarded as splendid but
the schools are lodged most gladly.
Still, the men are weaving baskets,
and demonstrating intelligent interest
in automobile mechanics, and other
wise submitting to requirements which
are made before they can have liberty
and leisure"
'.See a German" responded Maurice
Becker, once a private in the 10Th
Infantry. who left his hand In an army
hospital near Toul last January.
you bet saw a German, Three Of
them. all AT once, one night, patrolling
in front of our post. They got my
buddy with a rifle bullet. and | was
cutting loose with my automatic and
hand grenades. We got two. and one
OF my own grenades got me"
Becker explained the suspicion he
had about hand srcnadcs. which Is
shared by all soldiers in their first
meetings with the deadly weapon.
Yah, they tell you it is timed for
five seconds" he announced scorn-
fully. and then one goes off in three
seconds, and the next goes off in
seven so Fritz can dump it back on
you"
They are going to try and teach
Becker to be an automobile expert
before they send him back home to
Mishawaka. Ind.
Sergeant Paul Chamberlain, % years
old and with six years military serv-
ice behind him. had new theory
I'm military failure" he announc-
ed, after it was explained that a.
shrapnel shell had taken away good
section of one foot "A fellow with
my experience could have stepped
right along, promotion and all. but
Fritz picked me off too quick Moth.
ing heroic about ii. We'd been in 30
days in trench at Toul, and were go
ing out at dawn on March ninth when
they tagged me. There's a bunch of
scrap iron in these Dutch shells, and
II got me.
ncIiu ...n.Ln III L. -. I........-...,s