The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-05-09
Was Medical Missionary in Turkey al
Outbreak Of War; Refused to Leave
as Conflict Grew
WAS ONLY DOCTOR
IN CITY OF $4,000
Saw Struggles Of Armenians Against
Turks; In Line Of Fire; at College
II O'clock Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning at II O'Clock,
DR.. Charles D. Ussher Of Turkey Will
speak in the auditorium or the Okla
homa College for Women, telling OF
his experiences while In charge OF a
hospital in Van, Turkey, at the out.
break Of the war, the struggle OF the
Armenians against the Turkish army
and general summary OF conditions
as he found them at that time. Pres.
ident Austin has issued a cordial in-
yitation to the people of Chickasha
to hear DIR. Ussher.
DIR. Clarence d. Ussher was In
charge of hospital In Van, Turkey,
at the outbreak of the war. He had
been for twenty years medical mis-
sionary in Turkey under the AmerI.
can board.
His work had brought him into
close contact with the Turkish Off
cials and with German officials with
In the Turkish empire. He learned
several days before the first Of Aug
ust, 1914, that there was to be Eu-
ropean war and that the Turkish EN-.
pire was then beginning to mobilize,
lie determined to stay In Van In spite
of impending trouble.
In less than year came the siege
OF Van following the terrible depor.
tation and massacres. A few hun.
!red Armenians held out for four
weeks against the Turkish army. The
American premises were in the very
center of the city and sheltered six
thousand refugees. DR.. Ussher's hos-
pital was crowded to nearly four
times its natural capacity and ha
and his nurses dressed the wounds
Of hundreds for whom no room could
be found in the hospital
The Turks bombarded the Amerl.
can premises, disregarding the neu.
trail flag that floated above them, and
the Red Cross flag which in itself
should have been a protection.
Following the siege, DR.. USHER, as
the only physician in city of forty
thousand, had not only the wounded
soldiers of the defense to care for,
but hundreds of refugees from the
army; and he served the allied cause
so courageously that the Russian czar
sent q personal message of thanks
and an order that he be ranked hence-
forth as a general
Following the flight of the Turks
came the visitation OF the Black
Death and then the retreat of tha
Russian army and the forced flight
of the whole province DIR. USHER
was taken ill with typhus, contracted
from refugees. His wife died of the
fever and he was carried on a stretch
or between two horses a long and
dangerous way back to safety beneath
the Russian lines, where at the foot
Of Mt. Ararat he lay dangerously Ill
for many weeks.
For fourteen months and up to the
time of his being stricken with ty.
phus. Dr. USHER was In charge of a
Red Cross hospital. According to DIR.
John R. Mott, DR.. Ussher had one oe
the most thrilling experiences Of any
missionary since the outbreak of the
war.
1t is DR.. Ussher's intention to re.
turn to Turkey as soon as that field
is opened up again for work. He was
very desirous of accompanying a Red
Cross unit soon to leave for work be.
hind the allied lines in Syria, but at
the special and urgent request of mise
sionary leaders he has consented to
give a limited amount of time to vis-
iting the colleges and universities in
the south.
j DEATH OF NlNNEKAH BOY