Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1918-06-25
individual opinion but of all of US.

freshly wounded men are DfOugl
operated on, kept only until they al
streng enough to stand transportation
then embarked to base hospital.
that way we have constant stream Q
men going through here al the tim
We have four operating, X Ray an
ARCHAEOLOGICAL teams, dresser on tn
wards and ambulance companies.
am chief of one operating team. w
are supposed to work in eight hou
shifts, but for the past week we hav
been going really al the time running
four operating tables at once. 1t
some job, | tell you, and one is gla
to lie down anywhere and sleep. Tha
does not keep up all the time, for if
did no one could stand it, but at tina
time there was quite push on and
tell you we gave Fritz a good drub
bing. His picked shocked troops sur
got the shock of their lives. The com
handing officer is very exact with u
| eAiiu WliCll tliS illCll VI lilS OPCi dIilis
force are off duty, he insists that w
take complete rest. An order that h
has no trouble in enforcing.
Of course there are horrible wound
of all kinds and descriptions. TIT
type of work done is extremely radi
| cal on account of virulent infection
Gas gangrene is very prevalent anC
when it gets start always proves
fatal. We are fighting it with extern
sive operations and an immunizins
serum. This serum is new weapon
in our hands against bacteria and ha;
given us gratifying results. JUS
think if the antevivisectionist had haC
their way, of the number of U. S. sol
diers that would be dead to day. Al
of the wounds are treated by Correll
Dakin method and it is wonderful how
quickly a badly infected wound car
He made sterile and sutured. Thus
saving the man weeks of painful dres-
ings and leaving him with a horrible
scar,if not the loss of life or limb.
l am delighted with the place, the
life, and like the work. There are q
couple of boys from Baltimore here
and we are more than glad to get
together.
We have a complete and very eff
o;oo+ 1,,,oto of ,,,o,.ioop ,,,,rcac opI
are as proud as can be of them. II
is bad enough for the men to have to
give up all the comforts and conven-
fences of civil life and come out here
when there are practically none but
we can do it. Think of the hardships
these young women have to put up
with and the trying duty They surely
deserve all that can be given them.
OF course our constant thought is to
get back home to our families, friends
and work, but none of us would think
of coming until we see the thing
through. We are glad that the ser
iousness of this war has struck our
country and feel quite confident of sue
cess, when we are backed up as you are
all doing over there for US. You can
not possibly realize what it all is, un-
less you can be right here in it.
Demonstrations Of flying are all the
time right over our heads. We have
seen some raids and really a plane
can do stunts that no bird can do.
The surrounding country is very
pretty wen the sun shines. That
luxury however we get only on rare
occasions and we have found the name
of Sunny Francois only one of poetry
and romance and not a reality. The
continuation of rain, mud and bad food
is about the worst that | know of
The constant rain mingled with in
Vulnerable front yard decorations
(manure piles) cause the atmosphere
to be permeated with an undesirable
stencil, that one simply has to get used
to. Water is luxury. The French
rarely use for anything. Never inter
nally or externally. The roads are
wonderful. They have costant atten-
ton for they must be kept to maintain
the lines of communication. There
is a constant stream of motor vehic
les on them at all times. They are
lined either side with large trees
This, | understand was an idea of Ne
polian. Not so much for their beauty
but to act as a camouflage for his
troops. Not bad stunt. Lots of the
roads are on the same beds that Juliu.
Caesar built when he came through
this section enroute to England.
If the sun would shine, really be
lieve this would be right nice par
of the world to live in, but the maj
who first spoke of Sunny France wa
a malignant, enthusiast, and mus
have been filled to the gills with som
of the swine, which we drunk out o
lineup and you pay such exorbitan
prices for. At any rate we vii hay
to forgive him for we are all liabl
to little mistakes at times of exhilis
ration. Are we not?
They say this is a great agricultur;
district, but all seen raised for ea
ing purposes are frogs, snails an
! horses. One really has to look befol
he bites over here.
This is quite little war we are ha'
ing and everytime we hear barriag
, we know that is one less to be fire
, before we get home. Everyone
confident over here. So long.
BILL,
(Wm. Neil, Jr.)