The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-02-03
The Epic Of the Walking Wounded
ny JOHN oxENHAM.

porous and smiling countryside. Now
Nytschaete and Messines are onlJ
handfuls Of rubble. 1t is all an abom
inction OF desolation and death
rratered, crevassed land pitted and
pockmarked with she'll holes Its on.
ly harvest Is mud barbed wire, tbs
reu.nants and refuse OF the great bat.
tle---and many never-to- be-forgotter
memories
Now indeed it is buster than ever II
was before. but now with death "a
once with life. For. from someyhS, q
back there. the amouf1aged big guus
ere hurting death and destruction in
to the driven back German lines
night and day without ceasing. and
the enemy does not always take his
fayins quietly. The ground we now
occupy, after driving him out. has
suffered fiery torment from bQth sides
and bears the tragic marks OF H.
Walking Ii Hard.
II IL Rrduous walking there even for
a III and healthy man In full posses
sion OF all his limbo and his wind. TO
the broke men coming down from
he fight II must have been a veritable
purg7tory. Via Dolorosa from which
the Imagination shrinkE. ] was wad-
ing through It's mud and lodging It's
"i'falls bat few days ago So
know
But a great and impertshable mem
Org Of good deeds nobl-- done at
IA ches to Messnes. and thousands Of
men viii recall them as long as they
live But for them, indeed, many Of
the men might never have had the
chance Of ever recalling anything
again.
Before this. the Canadians in their
magnificent fght al Vimy Ridges. and
the Australians nj Polygon Wood and
tlsncourse and the Menin road, and
tho New zealaneders before Pas-
scheudael had received the prompt
assistance or their Y, NJ c, AS as
they came out Of their fights. and the
value Of that assistance had been so
obvious, and had received such grate-
fpl recognition from headquarters,
that when the great advance ut Mes~
sinas was planned, the British Y ".
G A. was taken into consultation. and
arrange ments were made for succor-
ing the wounded on a scale never be-
fore attempted.
The director OF medical service had
IL oil most carefully planned out be-
forehand with their leaders. The ad-
vance WAS to be along such and such
lines The wounded who could walk
would come down from The advance
dressing stations, about one hundred
ards behind the front by such and
such tracks to The Cors collecting
posts halfway down pa 20, by other
clearly Indicated tracks to the rear.
where, at the railway evacuatlnR sta
t'ous, the anu blance trains awRite d
them.
Every road at the rear would be
packed and ta mined with the where
withal to consolidate the advance, tina
success of which was never for one
v,o~1"nt doubted ammunition wa
CONS, service motors crammed with
food, Auns, lumber. feld-kitchens,
m on. horses. mules. No room for
wounded men in ouch q n1aeistron1,
60 they were TO keep to their own
marked tracks. where st all events
they could take their time and walk
unhindered and unhindering.
Slaacks Nearest the Firing lime.
And so, behind the nine~miie hat
t!efront, the night before the ad-
vrnce. in four-and thirty differen,
places little mushroom shacks Of tim
Der, corrugated iron. sods anything
that would AFFORD senblan nee OF
shelter were hastily erected and. with
the help Of lmhers. service wagons
and motors. were amply supplied with
rN neceSsaries and above all with
he choicest spirits among those men
who carry their lives in their hands
aud their hearts on their s1eevs in
the device OF the Red Triangle There
ire two or three leaders to each post
and a number of picked ordNrlies,
''he title Rcd TRIANGLE on tn black
ground has done more 90 win this
war. ana still mch more 20 save
~'cn's bodies and souls. than We al
home as yet fully recognizable. But
tho army chiefs out there kknow it te
the fun and their appreciation Is
largo and warm. To hundreds OF thou
sands Of our men It represents new
eva ngel--the goepel OF practical and
most genial Christianity. 1t has come
TO a new birth and has opened itS
iusty new born arms wide enough ia
take in the whole world.
The Red Triangle asks no aues-
tjons, requires no creeds. when IT Of
eers its help. Like the Samaritan in
the parable it sees simply the need
and to the uttermost of it's power sup
plies it. Wherein is n mighty lesson
for the churches and for all Of US
II we have the wisdom TO learn it
we'll, The Red Triangle has learn ed
on hery fields the way to win men
The r.a~est posts we're not rIo q
than two hundred and Atty yards
rom the actual battlefront. The
Red Triangle had attained one among
SC mn0v sumr1its Of desire. 1t was
no longer merely an adjunct to ad-
vance camrs and rest camps. At last
Il had it's regular place or service
on the battlefield. arranged and or
dered by hea dquarters, and it's lead
"rs were invited to the medical con-
ferences which settled the programme
for dealing with the wounded
At 3:30 A. NJ, on June 7. the cur
tain went up to the tune of the ex-
plosion Of the great mines. and the
roar and crash OF the harrage be-
gan. Ali night long the Red Tri-
angles had been toiling like busy ants
and--do permit it!~<1genicl-faced
uncIes' The fires were burning
brightly. kettles galore were steam
'nR. chocolate cakes. and other COM
forts were all laid out handy, and the
eager-faced workers waited, tight
strung. for the event and for their
own work to begin.
The First Wounded
The men went over the top follow
'ng the travelling line OF FIRE. and a
few minutes later the front posts
ware receiving their first guests. wei.
coming them with CHEEKY words.
handing out hot drinks. COTE. cocoa
lemonade. beef broth, chocolates and