Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-24

was in the hospital with nurses f1utter-
ing all about doing kind things. But
couldn't see them, for I was as blind
as a bat
When | discovered there was some
thing the matter with my eyes | was
so mad I almost foamed at the mouth.
I'm going to get boche right now"
| yelled, "if / have to crawl to the
front"
And, clad only in my nightshirt,
rolled out of my cot and charged at the
spot where | figured a door might be
located.
/ plunged into a convaescent soldier,
and we both went to the floor biting
and scratching.
must have been little delirious. for
] fixed such tight grip on his wind
| pipe that it required the combined ef-
forts of four nurses and an attendant
10 pry me loose l must have thought
the poor chap l knocked down was a
boche
The next day was ali right in my
| noodle, but | was still blind and mad
as the devil.
| | was a little conSoled that afternoon
| when some Irish lads from famous
| New York regiment were brought in.
They were in worse shape than | was,
| suffering from both gas and wounds,
but they were as game as bulldogs. They
cursed the Huns with all of the vari-
ations of the Gaelic temperament. Their
Irish blood was to the boiling point,
and their chief desire was to get back
to the front double-quick and get an
| other crack at the Hun. Never have
heard men swear with such picturesque
ness. If they ever get chance to do
all the things they threatened to do to
the Kaiser, there won't be So much as a
toenail left Of his royal highness for
purposes of identification.
One of the lads who had lost a leg
was particularly vitriolic.
SO help me-" he said, I'm going
back If have to carve me own wooden
leg out of bedpost. And that blankety-
get him. for If he don't l will
AT the end of the sixth day | re-
gained my eyesight and was a happy lad
to be able to see the world once more.
l remained in the hospital two weeks
and was then sent to a casualty camp
While there doing light duty, was pick
ed with thirteen others of the First
Division to return TO the States and
help out in the third Liberty Loan cam
paign. Thirty-seven others from vari,
Gus branches of General Pershing's over
seas forces were also selected to &c
back, In this Liberty Loan contingent
were artillerymen, infantrymen, machine
gunners and signal corps men. repre-.
senting every section of the United
States, from New York to San Fran,
cisco.
One of the lucky lads, Private Lang.
horne Barbour, seventeen years old. OF
Chatham. Va. ,,Iwas in that vicious fgh'
on the Swiss border. November 2, 1917
when the Germans box-barraged a ,lny
sector and killed that trio of American
soldiers whose names will go down ir
history as the earliest martyrs of the
war-Enright. Gresham and Hay.
was picked to 60 because I had fired
the first shot for Uncle Sam in The war
but when l was told l was going bach
to the good old Y. s. A. to boom the
bonds, I couldn't believe 1t until l was
actually aboard the transpor, and saw
in the distance Then I knew il wa!
true, and fairly hugged myself for joy.
The trip back was an excursion for u.
war-battered men. All of us had beer
gassed or wounded, and every mani -jacl
Of us was seasoned to our toes in moderr
trench warfare. Rigid training and th'
hardest of knocks had been our lo'
for many months, so that the life Of
luxury and ease on the transport wa!
satisfied the palate of millionaire, Oul
menu included turkey, chicken. pie ant
cake And that pie was wonderful;
ate whole one at every meal. Durini
my nine months in France I hadn't ever
caught sight of pie. Every afternoon
we were treated to movie show aboart
the transport. and again we saw thu
Charley Chaplin and Mary Pickford.
Many of US could not restrain ou
tears when we sighted the coastline o
good old Yankeedom. All of US hat
gone over to France prepared to di
for our country and never expected t