The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1918-11-06


side l was instructed to make for
very advanced dressing post down in
! the valley. We ploughed through mud
such as | never saw before, in and out
of shell holes, past dead American SOL
diers lying where they had fallen,
some in hideous postures, and, with in
describable expressions by German
dead, many almost blown to pieces,
over wires being laid by the engineers,
through reserve trenches, not more
than few hours ago occupied by the
Germans, to where a small white flag
bearing a red cross was flying. Here
then found only one stretcher case,
and this led me to do an unwise thing.
i did not wish to make the trip back
with only one stretcher case, SO, leav-
ing my orderly, l kept on, feeling
there must be more wounded further
on. A military policeman stopped me
to ask me for my orderly, but told
him l believed there were wounded
ahead and l was going after them.
With smile of good luck lie allowed
me to pass. The road became so bad
with the mud and shell holes l could
hardly drive on, and shells were
bursting on both sides of the road.
kept on, however, until was excited
ly hailed. l was informed that l was
right in the support line itself and
must go no further as l would be
among the Germans. / managed to
stretcher cases being brought in from
No Mans Land. Machine guns put
put-puted about me and shells whist
led all around. On my return Fritz
started in to shell our artillery which
was moving I'M on my road. In three
shots he made a direct hit, an am
munition carriage, horses broke lnse
and galloped riderless about the field
with blood squirting from their
wounds, and men and horses lay in a
disfigured heap that was hastily clear
ed away. 1t was my hottest expert
ence In one case a shell exploded so
near me that | was showered with
the debris it kicked up but | went on
unscratched. 1t is a wonder | was
not wounded, or worse yet did not be-
come one of those hideous gruesome
figures that bordered the road.
That night it was a case of: Gigs
out. Jerry's up" Searchlights played
on him from all sides and the anti
ircraft put up stiff barage, but he
got away. We slept near naval bat
terry that was composed of heavy guns,
but we slept through all the noise
one soon gets used to it. And so our
work went on from day to day until
our regiment was called out, and or
dered brest billots, where we follow
ed them. Just here | want to men
ton the splendid work the Red Cross
is doing right up at the front with
their canteens or rolling kitchens of
hot chocolate, biscuits, eating choco-
late, cigarettes, smoking and chewing
lost from their units in the confusion
and the soup kitchens of others are
delayed because of the bad conditions
of the roads, etc, and these rolling
canteens of the Red Cross are indeed
life saver" During my stay at the
front met scores of soldiers who had
been separated from their companies
and mess kitchens, and they surely
did bless the Red Cross when they
reached one of these canteens. Inter
ested as l have been in my work
fear may have written too much, but
l have been anxious to give the read
err a first hand account of the work Of
the particular branch of the Red Cross
that know of, and to show the people
of America that their money is doing
us for our work the captain of the.
ambulance company made the state
ment that our ambulances had pait
for themselves more than hundred
times. The Government values the
life of soldier at ten thousand dol
lars, insures him at this amount, and
when a soldier is wounded the interim
between the time he receives hi!
wound and the time his receives prop
er medical attention is of vital i'm
portance. If he can not have hi
wound we'll treated within twelv,
hours, he may die, or perhaps spent
months rather than weeks in the hos
pital, and YOU, the PEOPLE of tn,
United States, by furnishing thos
particular ambulances to the Arm.
through the American Red Cross, hav
saved the lives of numbers of YOUI
boys, and enabled many other t
leave the hospitals in much shorte
time TO return and continue to d,
their bit in helping to WIN the fna
victory for OUR country.