The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-08-10

DOWn the center or the building De-
tween these smaller rooms on one
side and the waiting room in the 9TH
er runs a wide hall which leads out
into the big room at the end into
which the ambulances are driven and
loaded. Six OF our fellows usually
work together on one Of the teams to
fill the ambulances
The wounded are carried into the
big room which is large enough to &C.
commodate what one train can carry.
After train is unloaded they start
filling the ambulances which are prob
ably just returning from carrying the
cases which were on the previous
train The doctors 60 around among
the stretchers while waiting and ad-
minister what first aid they can to
those who, have not had it already
and pick out the most serious cases
to be sent to the hospital first The
stretcher bearers then carry the pa
tients down the hall and as they pass
| through the door into the room where
the ambulance is waiting they tell the
door man whether the case is gassed,
wounded or operative (rushedD and
assign an ambulance going to that hos
pital which treats that case. The
French have been doing this for four
years now and have got it down to
pretty good system. We handled one
night as many thousand cases as
there are members in our family at
home now. Maybe some of those men
aren't heav-- I carried everything
from Germ French officers, and
privates, American officers and priv
ated to colored troops from Africa.
The latter feel as if they were made
out of solid iron. They all receive the
same attention. 1t was startling at
first to see a German walking along
with both arms around French sol
diers One African l carried had had
, his face cut in moons and circles like
one sees in the pictures OF savages in
missionary magazines.
Mother Finds Soldier Son.
was given a present at the station
which l prize very much. While walk
ing among the fellows on their stretch
ers, was attracted by the remarkable
fine face Of husky. He had frank
open countenance and large brown
eyes. l asked il there was anything l
could do for him and he said no, that
he could not move, but was not suffer
ing very much. l brought him glass
of water and then he told me that he
had been wounded by machine gun
fire. The shot had passed through
the bladder and into the spine 50 he
had no feeling nor use of his muscles
from the waist down. After he told
me this he took hold of my hand and
looked up at me with those big brown
eyes which l can never forget and
said, You think l will get we'll don't
you?" The first thing thought of was
Tom. l talked to him a little and then
called the surgeon and ordered him
sent to the hospital at once. We put
the stretcher on the cart and wheeled
him out to the ambulance. Just as
they were putting him in he handed
me his trench helmet and said, 1T is
all l have and l want you to keep it.,
You have been SO good" He was
wounded at Chateau Thierry. What
these fellows suffer America will nev-
err know because they will never tell.
A remarkable and most happy coin
cident occurred Saturday night Mrs.
Bacon, a Red Cross worker from New
York, had been working there night
after night and / rad got to know her
pretty we'll. She told me about her
son. who is a lieutenant in the Ma
rines and whose division is now at the
front. She had not heard from him
and began to be little anxious. She
is very handsome. and had been
mother to all the boys that had been
in her part Of the station, and we all
just love her Three Marines were
brought in early Friday morning. She
went to them right away and found
that they were members of her sons
company, but had net seen him since
they had gone over the top. She was
wonderfully calm and poised and yet
we all knew how anxious she was.
She had worked all night, but she kept
on working all day without any signs
of anxiety and yet with a desperate
ness because she could not do enough
for the other mothers sons. At 10:15
Saturday night she was still going
around putting little pillows under
the fellows heads and doing little
motherly things when someone called
out, Mother! Mother" 1t was her
her son and he was only slightly in
jured. Well we were so happy too,
to see these two, mother and son
united this way while each was giving
up of his most for the others.
l must go out this morning and try
to buy some food l got note from
the Red Cross this morning with