The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-04-21

| 10-mule team. Men have been known
to ask to be returned to duty rather
than suffer such diversion"
''The men don't mind the pain and
hurt so much" Sergeant Cormack said.
and after a few months of active
service a soldier seems to be able to
bear pain and discomfort with forth
tude that is nothing short of marvel
Gus to the ordinary mortal. Only a
few days ago British Royal Army
Medical corps doctor was telling me
of an incident that occurred during
one of the phases of the battle of the
Somme. The medical officers and or
derlies at a certain dressing station
had been working for something like
so hours without cessation. the wound
ed were pouring in all the time. AS
fast as they were evacuated to tins
field ambulance. fresh men took theft
places. Finally there came a luil and
all hands lay down to snatch what rest
they could. In less than half an hour
one man was brought in by the
stretcher bearers, badly wounded in
the legs. Two of the doctors started
to get up to attend to the man, whom
he stopped them:
" Don't bother Doc he said. 'just
give me smoke and let me stop here
while. There were six of us hit with the
one shell. and they'll be bringing the
others down soon. and then you can fix
US all up at one time and such in
stances as this are quite common"
II the war hasn't done anything else"
said Sergeant Cormack. at has taught
The men who are participating in it how
10 smile. Look at any war picture and
In 20 cases out of 100 You will find the
soldiers smiling. True sometimes the
smile Is very grim affair, but more
often than not it is a smile of satisfac-
! ton that won't come off. One of the fin
est war pictures I have ever seen is
an actual photograph of a famous French
Canadian battalion going over the top
| at the battle of Courcelette. Eight men
| are shown in the picture, climbing up
| from the trench to the fire step and up
| over the parapet into No Mans Land
! And every one Of the eight is going into
the fight with smile on his lips. Time
and again | have seen the wounded
| brought into the dressing stations and
the field ambuances men sorely wound
ed, legs and arms shattered. with their
bodies racked with pain. But after a
cup of cocoa and a cigarette, the smile
soon comes back again, and generally
| deepens to a broad grin when the medical
| officer informs his patient that he is
sure OF making 'Blighty.'
| Going into any big war hospital In
| England" said Sergeant Cormack when
I
brought in, and instead of the means
| and cries of pain that one would natural
| ly expect from the wounded men. there
| are jokes and laughs. In the ward of
one hospital near Edinburgh where |
| was patient there sore 70 BEDS each
one occupied by surgical case Tha
! majority of them were major opera
| ton cases, some of them men who
would never again have the use of their
| limbs-men who would go through life
with one leg or one arm. But it WASH t
a case OF each man bemoaning his hard
luck In getting pipped Quite the con-
trary. The soldiers were as pleased as
could be because they had made
ence that | underwent just a week or
two ago. when ] underwent a major OPP
Grafton in New York. / was in a surgical
ward where there were 26 patients. some
of whom had only minor ailments. And
vet in the 20 days that l was in that
ward | heard more walls and means and
lcries of pain, real or fancied, from those
few men, than in the whole time l Tas
in the hospital on the other side"
In speaking OF the great picture
America at War" in which Sergeant
Cormack's whole heart and soul are
centered now during his convalescence
pending his return lover th6re," he said
among other things:
..fn sending out this great war picture
II think the government OK the United
Estates is doing magnificent edrcatioS-