The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1918-03-21
The Y. M. Q. A. win Find Your
Row


If y0u have relative III the
army on navy, read the following
1 story, then save IL II may hell
/ yOu some time
Out Of the fears and anxielies
Of Fathers and mothers, out of The
broken connections that are 10
eyitable ia wartime, there has
grown up a new department OF
the Young Mems Christian Assoc
citation, the bureau for tracing
missing soldier and sailor boys.
TO the folks back home, one oil
the big tragedies OF the war is the
fact that there is no way Of fol
lowing the soldier-S0ns into the
encmy's country no way, even,
81 making sure that connections
remain unbroken. One week the
family reads and re-reads. laughs
over and pretefids not 10 wipe its
eyes over the usual letter from
the boy ia France. 4 letter full Of
bravad0 and gaicty, light-hearted
rec0uniing Of the details Of camp
life. coekiness about It's hard
ships. conviction about the out
come Of the war. The next week
the letter doesn I come. They tell
each other that il has been de-
layed. try not 10 listen for the
postmnns ring, aud refuse 70
meet each Others eye when the
postman has come and gone So
The week draes By, aud the next
week comes. and the next. and the
weeks after that.
he may be ia the hospital, he
may have been transferred, he
may even be a prisoner of war liz
may be dead. although they have
received no notice Of his death
They would almost welcome thai
notice sometimes. in their anxiety
for there Is no grief worse than
such terrible uncertainty There
i nothing that they can do but
wait. Connections have been
broken as completely as IL the ab
sent boy were in another planet
Then they remember that hie
letters home have been written
on Young Mems Christian Asso.
citation stationery, with the tamil
iar Red Triangle Ia the corner
Perhaps The Young Men s Chris
tian Association knows something
about their son. They determine
f0 write and iinnlore iis help II
getting ia touch with him once
more Sometimes ii is the faihei
y h0 writes. asking that the ban
news. ii there IL amy, be kept from
the hos 5 mother. Sometimes boil
father and mother write, unknown
10 each other. each trying 70 save
the other pain.
II WAS these heartsiek letters
from the home-folks. mostly moth
ers. that led 10 the creation OF the
new bureau 81 the Young Men :
Christian Association. II follows
soldier and sailor boys al
most around the world sometimes,
10 bring bnek word Of their safety
10 their people AZ home. II goes
even into the prison-camps. 10 as
certain their whereabouts. Dur |
ing the last month, the bureau
received thiriy-fiye letters. and
was able "a trace twenty-one 81
he boys. No detective agency
ever worked on such mcagrc cincs
rs the bureau Of missing soldier
and sailor boys must do. Some
lines only the boys Fame is Civ
"a. often. the sole hints are such
a these: My boy graduated
from Yale III 1916. Charley
,ailed from America on the Es.
bagne june is. 1.-THE lad was
h Ambulance Section ., but
dropped out to Try to enter avia-
ion. " Il
II takes infinite patience TO fol.
ow such clues 70 the end, just q
lring comfort to the hearts Of
lnxi0us mothers back homo. Per
iaps oniy a woman could be ex-
,ected To understand how other
women worry about their soldier
,oys. At any rate, al the head
n The heart of the bureau "a
race missing soldier and sailor
,oys. there is a woman, Miss A
evelyn Newman. who for seven
,ears directed the Studio Club
or Girls. IN New York. My !
rows. she calls the missing sol
Tiers aud sailors, aud every letter
hnf comes from their families at
lome she considers personal, and
.nswers a. soon al she can, know
nu how that answer is waited for
i home.
i