The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1918-07-18
Then happened one Of the great dis.

Then happened one Of the great dis
appointments Of my life. She didn't
see the joke. She was English. She
gasped and glared at me, and ! think
she went out and reported that I was
delirious again.
Really, wasn't much impressed by
the English king. He seemed q pleas
ant, tired little man with a great bur-
den to bear and not much Of an idea
about how TO bear II. lie struck me
as an individual who would cOnscien-
tiously do his best In any situation, but
would never do or say anything with
the slightest suspicion Of punch to II.
A few days after his visit to the hos
pital l saw in the Official London Ga
zette that had been awarded the dis
tinguished conduct medal. Official let
tiers from the Canadian headquarters
amplified this information, and a no
tice from the British war Office in
formed me that the medal awaited me
there. I was told the king knew that
the medal had been awarded me when
he spoke to me in the hospital. De-
spite glowing reports in the Kentucky
press, he didn't pin II on me. Probably
he didn't have IL with him, or perhaps
he didn't consider II good form to hang
a ID. g. NJ. on a suit Of striped presen-
tation pajamas with a prevailing tone
of baby blue.
While was in the King George hos
pital witnessed one Of the most Won
derful examples of courage and pluck
/ have ever seen. A young Scot only
nineteen years old, McAuley by name,
had had the greater part Of his face
blown away. The surgeons had patch
ed him up In some fashion, but he was
horribly disfgured. He was the bright
est, merriest man in the ward, always
joking and never depressed. His own
terrible misfortune was merely the top
ic for humorous comment with him.
He seemed to get positive amusement
out of the fact that the surgeons were
always sending for him to do some
thing more with his face. One day he
was going into the operating room and
a fellow patient asked him what the
new operation was to be.
"Oh," he said, I'm going to have q
cabbage put on In place of q head
It'll grow better than the one I have
now"
Once in a fortnight he would man.
age TO get leave to absent himself from
the hospital for an hour or two. He
never came back alone. 1t took a
couple of men to bring him in. On the
next morning he would say:
"Well, il was my birthday. A man
must have few drinks on his birth
day"
l was discharged from the hospital
in the middle of February and sent to
comfortable place at Hastings. Sus
sex, where l lived until my furlougf
papers came through. l had a fine
time in London at the theaters anC
clubs pending my departure for home
When my furlOugh had arrived l wen
to Boxton. Derbyshire, where the Ca
madam discharge depot was located
and was provided with transportation
10 Montreal. / came back TO Americi
on the Canadian Pacific Royal Mai
steamer Metagama, and the trip wa
without incident of any sort. We In.
for time in the Mersey, awaitin,
word that our convoy was ready TO Sc,
us out of the danger zone, and a de
stroyer escorted us 400 miles on on
way.
was informed before my departure
that commission as lieutenant in tn
Canadian forces awaited my return
from furlOugh, and l had every inten
ton of going back to accept it, Blu
since got to America things have hap
pened. Now it's the army of Uncl
Sam for mine. I've written these ste
ries to show what we are up against
It's going to be a tough game and
bloody one and sorrOwful one 70
many, but it's mostly right on on
side and all wrong on the other-an
} I'm glad we're in IL. I'm not willing I
quit soldering now, but will be whe
we get through with this. Becaus
when we finish up with all this ther
won't be any necessity for soldering
The world will be free of war for
, long. long time, and a Gods mere
that.