The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-11-07
REAL EXCITEMENT
FOR TRUCK DRIVER
Worked With Surgeons In Alb.
sence of Nurses-Shelled BY
German Big Guns.
BY m American Red Cross Driver
Written for Tia united Press.

mail.)- There were six trucks in the
convoy that ! o 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 man delays until S
o'clock in the morning, when we
came to a 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 NJ with the
supply stuff; but we couldn't have
done 1t without an airplane.
The army was moving n the little
space 1t left in tho roadway was oc-
cupied by the refugees. They came
streaming back in every sort of con
yeyancc or on foot, pushing their be-
Up ahead somewhere the guns were
drumming q long, ceaseless roll.
With " off the map, as It
were. / speeded back to A.
where there was a hospital in an Did
chateau. In this were 60 wounded
American soldiers and about 200
French. There were two American
AN q AC" cICUCIl dIu
English nurses.
That afternoon we evacuated the
Americans from the hospital and
made them all comfortable in their
new Judgment at C. After
that we drove back to A. and
turned in, because we looked forward
to a hard day.
But at 2 q. m. q French general
waked me up with the announcement
that the Germans were advancing and
That the hospital had to be completely
evacuated in 10 minutes. He made
II very clear It would have to be
done in 10 minutes or we'd find our
selves In No Mans Land. So turned
the men out and we went to work
in the 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
handled very slowly. We put them in
our camions and took them to the
Oise canal, when transferred to bar
ges, they were conveyed to Paris.
They left the hospital with only two
american army surgeons, the Red
cross personnel, and a. French cham
IAN. Inc American surgeons looked
about the place rather Ionesomely. but
one OF them said he felt something was
SNo w AhoPpCh, dllu IldI DeIOTe long
there'd be plenty Of work for every
pooy. 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
wounded. They had hurried down from
the advanced dressing stations and
most of them were in bad shape.
Although there We're but a handful
or US, we hustled about and got the
hospital going again somehow, and
started to take care Of the wounded.
There wer" 70 nurses about the place,
none in the town, so the drivers Of the
Red Cross camions volunteered. There
wasn't one who a ever 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.
The two American surgeons started
operating at 1880 and were at 1t at 8
in the morning. Wei say I'VE" be-
cause everyone had to do his bit-per-
formed IL major operations, and every
one successful!
Only n set Of instruments had been
left behind, n as there wasn't time
to steriliEe them by boiling each time,
we had to our alcohol over them. Six
candles stuck in their W wax to a
board furnished the only light for the
surgeons. l held the board. As they
worked, / moved il around SO they
might have the most light on the prob
ing, OF setting or sewing or whatever
there was TO be done. Three Of the
operations were t~rephanning Of the
skull. Another of the soldiers had So
pieces Of shell in him; and every n
was located and taken put by candle
light. 1t was a busy night. Luckily at
midnight another American surgeon
arrived and relieved at the operating
table. The worst part of it was that
ether Knocked out most of our drivers;
SO that al last there were only two
of us left to bear a hand.
In the morning we evacuated the hos
pital, taking the wounded to C,
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. C was subject to air raid
every clear night, so we had to sleep
in the cellar of the great chateau. The
bombs bursting about the place made
rest almost impossible.
When the last Of the refugees had
been transferred to a ~neighboring rail-
way station, word came that the Ger
| mans had dropped a 240 on the train at
| r, a few kilometers away. So
we hustled two camions over there and
found four men killed and five
wounded.
For two or three days We were again
caring for refugees who were stream
ing toward the haven OF Paris by the
4 thousands.
In Hot Corner.
Soon the trucks were ordered to
swing northward to s.. The
French had been there, but had re-
treated to straighten out their line.
Germans began Smelling the place,
finally driving out the entire civilian
population. 1t then becameAuch a hot
corner that 1t vas no longer a billeting
area for troops. and army camions were
not allowed to pass through the city.
But there was a Red Cross staff on
the job there!
The task now was to get out the staff
n all the supplies possible from III
Red Cross warehouse there We went
up with three camions, and as we en-
tered the city saw three big German
sausage balloons watching the place
and directing the gun fire. Soon the
shells began dropping about us. The
res had seen us.
The warehouse was in the chapel of
the big seminary: and while we were
at work loading up, shells from the