Connecticut western news., 1918-07-25
JOHN ARMSTRONG SENDS AN INTERESTING LETTER
Tells George Mather of Saving Paul Caravati, His First
 Patient
May IA, 1918.

Dear Friend George:
 was quite surprised to hear from you but it is needless to say that your letter was very welcome as are all letters from the folks at home. l also received copy of the Conn. Western giving an account of Paul Caravati's being gassed. It was queer coincidence for Paul was the very first patient I helped while was at the front line aid station the firts time. Stephen Hendry, two other band men and myself were do- ing a weeks turn there and for five days had been lying idle. We began to believe that nothing was going to happen during our stay. One after noon about five o'clock we heard a gas alarm and then our troubles be- gan. Our cave was luckily gas proof bue we couldn't go out without wear ing a mask. About eight o'clock the first patient came in. We didn't notice who it was until we started to wash his face and hands with the solution used to relieve the gas burns when we discovered that it was Paul. He had been out with the mess detail and was gassed before he could get back. We fixed him up as conf mfortable as possible and about midnight the lieutenant told us we had better take him to the hospital which was about two miles or more back of the lines. They were still sending over gas and we could hear the shrapnel bursting outside all though our cave was some forty feet under ground. It was a lucky thing that Paul was not 50 bad off but what he could walk with our help. We put on our gas masks and, with Paul holding on to pole supported on one end by Steve Hendry and on the other by myself, started through the communication trench toward the hospital. Believe me, it was some dark, and with the masks on we could not see thing. I had been over the ground several times before and thought I knew where to go but soon found out that we were lost. I didn't know whether we were headed for the hospital or for Germany but Paul, who was completely blindfolded by bandages, said he knew by the turns in the trench that we were going the right way. There was nothing to do but keep going. Once in while, after testing for gas, we would take our masks off and sit down and rest. We couldn't keep them off for long as they were still l shooting gas and shrapnel at us and some of the shells landed pretty close. At a few places we had to climb over the dirt where shell had knocked the banks of the trench down. We finally ran into Guard who told us that we were still on our side of the lines and headed for the hospital. Paul was suffering but wanted to keep going so on we went After a while we struck path over then top that was much shorter way for us and we followed it only to get tangled up in some new barbed wire that had been put up during the evening. We finally found way around the end of the entanglements and arrived at the hospital without any more diff culty. It took us little over four hours to make the distance of about two miles between the first aid sta ton and the hospital. We were on the go all the following day fixing up the gas patients. Paul was taken to base and I heard few days ago that he was getting along nicely. olnce then the band has been used as gas guard, cooks and Y. M. c. A.
 help. Lately we have been stationed
 A little behind the lines where we
 practice during the day and give a concert every evening. Once in a while the Bosche get nasty and start