The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1918-08-06
Hattie Rice, Red Cross Nurse.
Somewhere in France,
", June 2, 1918.

Erere in France for six or seven
xnonths, and have thought several
Simes Of writing to you, but some
Ehing would always happen to pre-
went. There are 5S of us in this hos
pital on duty at time, a day and
might shift. but 1t seems to me that
Ehere Is enough to be done to keep
sEwice that many employed. The
Schdef surgeon never sleeps" it is
: said, but Of, course he must but no
~one ever knew him to be OF duty.
He is 30 kind and sympathetic, the
patients all love him, and when he
examines patient they wait his de-
cfsion with suspense. This is only
"A relief hospital, is four or five miles
IRON the front lines. and the first
hospitR where u wounded man is
brought for surgical treatment. 1t
Hs not often one OF them remains
mere after he is able to be carried
taurther back, but some times they
are shot up so bad that it is hardly
necessary to move the poor fellows.
The nurses, with few exceptions, are
I'm tears half the time. but do all they
sCan to keep the sufferers from know
ing it, They treat these wounded
: heroes as if he were a brother and
when he is suffering so much it
Seems that l can feel all his pain and
.affiiction. Now and then a bomb
from the German airplanes drops
-0ear the building and explodes with
"a loud crash, and some weeks ago
SLhe Germans shelled the buildings,
Sout luckily did very little damage,
Tout that was through the mercy OF
%~iod and not their fault 1 do not
believe German knows or cares
1anything about God, and very
much doubt If they know that Jesus
died to save sinners. Several weeks
sago a soldier who originally came
Hrom Salem, n c., was brought to
&he hospital, with severe wound in
che shoulder, and was put in my
ward. He suffered great pain as the
whole of the top Of his shoulder was
ssshot away by, it is thought, a piece
'Sof shell. The surgeons have been
>yery anxious about his case was
cold to make him my special patient
StScm etimes We thought he was bet
:seemed to be deeply depressed con-
~,erning a letter he was expecting
from the states, but il never came
Things continued this way for sew
seral weeks, he was getting worse. his
'TSonnd would not heal. and in spite
of all attention given him he grew
worse. He knew il and told me to
!answer the letter that came. and
Unen told me he was looking. hop
ing to receive one from Elose Nj
"a girl in Salem. y. c., and if it did
not come before he died for me to
answer it, as I saw fit. and if it came
before he died he would tell me what
40 write. He talked of no one but
mis- girl, his very soul seemed in her
hands and in a half unconscious con-
Ndition for hours at a time he was
calling her name in the most endear-
ang terms. was at his side all the
Zine, he had given me his girls pic
Gure, all her letters and told me
what to write mis- mother. He knew
5zhe end was near, and aside from his
iSrief at not hearing from Eloise, was
perfectly contented a physician and
smother nurse q am not permitted
no mention names) were added and
JWere with me in my watch for the
soldiers last moments, and while the
cannon roared, the house trembled
Scoming lightning storm, the end
came. His eyes were closed a smile
ON his still, white face. a sigh like
xr tired child had gone to sleep. and
the king aviator had flown his last
.nirplane on earth and his fiuttering
spirit was flying to God. Uncle Jim,
he died just as Laura did, and as
had told him about my sweet little
crippled sister hope his spirit found
hers in the spirit land. / shall not
tell you about the burial, how the
French children covered his grave,
Nth flowers, but we put him away to
S4eep In the soil he had died to de-
AKend. But l am glad he died and
was out OF his trouble, as he had to-
'$die anyhow, for in day or two a
'Hetter from that girl. with bundle