Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-13
MISS THOMPSON
WRITES OF THE WAR
Wilmington Girl Tells Something
of Her Hospital Work
in France.

Mr. and Mrs Henry Il. Thompson have
received an interesting letter from their
daughter, Katharine working under the
auspices OF the American Red Cross. who
has been In an evacuation hospital at the
front IN l. Ar onnc forest rs can
teen worker. The letter dated October
IA, follows
Dear Ma and Pa-The other day |
dropped YOU a line that | had como up
here 10 work In the canteen for tins drive
81 here | am. The place Is made up Of
lots of big barracks that are used rs
hospital huts. etc. We cat in the officers
mess with the nurses and the officers eat
on the other side Of the room The first
night we arrived slept in what used to he
the nurses mess. The rats ran such riot
that the nurses were scared to death /,
didn't seem TO mind them SO much.
Coming up In a big truck 1t was burt up
about three miles from here, but fortunate
ly co onel came along and picked us up
in relays.
The t. S hospital trains which | ave
had a good chance to look through are the
most marvellous things YOU have ever
seen Hospital trains running N here a.
the time The aeroplanes are tiylng over
here in battalion formation to the front
II Is the most perfect thing 10 watch them.
afternoon We had lots of wounded 70 come
in. My job is TO give them what
chocolate. bread and Jam cigarettes or
whatever they want that We have.
They all adore the cocoa and the jam, is
lots Of them haven't had anything 10 eat
for DAYS. ! have gotten 50 hardened -
seeing bloody clothing cut of OF llmhs. cite
that / could 60 right into the operating
business myself. The men are wonderfully
brave and take il 81 we'll il i hard to
believe they arc suffering
Saturday-lt is almost impossible -
get minute 10 write and when YOU do
there Is 80 much NOISE II IS very hard -
collect one 5 thoughts. Such a~ they are
Sundav-lou see did unt ge very fai
yesterday, but Is am gong on night duty
this evening, have the day OF Capt
Pedlaw took me down 10 place not far
i ride. and he to get supplies. Il was drzzl-
ing, so had good chance 10 see Wh { the
much-talked-ot mud WAS like. At one place
we slipped off into ditch, the car >kidded
but another truck came along and pulled
US out.
The workers here keep changing all the
time Four females and one man left the
day before yesterday, as they had bad
colds and the ''fu" Some 81 the 18th
Engineers are here and they help us lot
10 their spare minutes. Also several
Marines who are wonderful but they arc
leaving tomorrow unfortunately Several
field hospitals empty hero and they are
evacuated 10 the hospital trains and sent
to the base hospitals all over France
Yesterday was 50 busy did not have
minute to catch my breath, but | love II
that way.
The nurses are perfectly wonderful,
most OF them have been working Just be-
hind the line during the recent defen>cs
and they have bad coi~ and ara worn out
but they keep on going and are cheerful.
Just the same You clnnaf imagine huW
hard everything is for them. There is 30
running water in the wards and ther. are
80 many patients that they cannot % n
much for each one as thcy would like
The other day we, the Americans, put
up a long barrage for about 81 hours We
could hear il necessarily and could >ce
the light IN the sky. Vt present eTcr1 pody
Is saving Germany i gong to ev:tJIate
and the war i. over. but We hrar - m4ny
remarks ] am afraid to believe any' hing
This i a disjolnted letter but You ran see
| am busy can name place, on account
OF the censor
Love To Ill IA.