The Era-leader., 1919-09-18
INA" bURD|CK GIVEN
CR0IX De GUfRkE

honored Mother Burdick of Texas,
sixty year old Salvation Army las,
sic and war heroine-by bestowing
upon her the Croix de Guerre.
She was one Of the first to reach
the scenes Of battle, and one of the
last to leave. She cooked fapjocks
and mended clothing for the dough
boys, serving them night and day. A
smile from MA" Burdick went with
each doughnut, fapjack and piece OF
pie, and it was these motherly smiles
which won for her the title of Moth
er" Burdick, "Ma" Burdick for short.
"Ma" Burdick held the pie-baking
record for France with 324 pies In
II hours, and her experiences under
fire were more remarkable probably
than any of the written or filmed
stories Of the world war.
"Ma" Burdick worked under shell
fire with her silvered head protected
by a regulation steel helmet the
same as worn by her thousands of
adopted sons in the trenches. She
worked herself into state Of ex-
haustion and was found i'll in the
loft of shell-torn stable and re-.
moved to hospital in Paris. After
regaining her strength she insisted
on returning to the front, and serv.
ed until shortly before the armistice
was signed.
Every member Of her family old
enough 70 serve was in the service.
Ensign Floyd Burdick, her aged hus-
band, hustled wood for her flapjack
fires and mended watches for the
doughboys, plying his trade with
jackknife as his only tool a"d his
knees for a workbench. Ernest Bur
dick, her son, was fighting in the
trenches, and Cecil and her daugh-
ters wear the Salvation Army uni
form.
Ma Burdick arrived in France
just as the men of the A. E. F. we're
being sent forward for training be-
hind the lines and she followed hem
forward into the very mouths O.:
German cannon. Her first hostel
was opened under the sky and heavy
rains often spoiled the batter of her
flapjacks. Her first cookstove was
fashioned from bits Of scrap sheet
iron and her first cake turner was
a piece of tin roofing.
IN her march forward with her
adopted sons ma" Burdick became
familiar with every shell hole. devas. |
tated village and battered cellar on
her front, which was on the Toul
sector.
In some places she fried her cakes
and pedaled her sewing machine in
cellar, protected by camouflaged
tanpaulin, and at another point her
hostel was COW stable, in which
cobwebs had to be pushed aside to
make room for the chimney for her
cookstove. During the heavy rains
Of the first fall the long overcoats
worn by the boys would freeze stiff
md they would stand them around
ner flapjack fire to thaw oul.
Her working hours we're from dav
light until she grew so weary she
lad OF take few hours sleep. But
she found time to hold three gospel
meetings and song services a. week
sometimes these meetings were held
n dugouts, and in abandoned and
battered buildings. The boys Say the
ongs were not loud but were from
he heart. These meetings resulted
n many, conversions among "Ma" !
adopted doughboy sons. An !
ctual testimonial given by one o. !
aese converts at a meeting has
cen preserved. He Is a big, husky +
riVate of infantry. In open meet.
ng he said:
Il used to be a hard guy, fellows
nd maybe had some good reasons
men used to say that nothing was
YER going to scare me; but when
e lay out there for six hours with
barrage busting right in front of
and arrivals busting all around
s. did whole lot of thinking It
'emed as though every she'll had
y number on 1t. When We went
'er' and ran square into their bar
lge I'll admit was scared yellow
Id was darned afraid I was goine
show 1t. We were under a bar
ge for ten hours. A she'll burIed q
e under a foot of earth, and ror q
Q first time I can remember. whi.e
y 'ounkie' was digging me out !,
aged to God, And l wan. to s,v
at believe he answered my prav.
and that is the only reason
me out uniniured. promised u
got out I'd call for a new DEAL and
want 10 say that I'm going to keer
at promise" 0ot
AVIATION ARMy ef4e .>.l