Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-24
1000 OPERATIONS
MADE IN WEEK
Untiring Efforts of Field
\ Hospital No. II at Sois-
sons Saved Many Lives
LETTER RELATES STORY
Staff Worked Without Rest
or Help for Fifty
two Hours

How Field Hospital No. l., of the
y First Division, worked for fifty-two con-
secutive hours, without sleep and almost
\ without food, at the battle of SCISSORS.
10 told In a letter to the Editor of the
EVENING PUBLIC LEDGER from three
members of the hospital-Sergeant
Richard @. Bollinger, William u. Castek
and Erwin Z. Bowen. Jr.. all physicians.
Operating. at the foot of the historic
3 Castle Pirrefonds, the eighty-three men
/, composing the unit struggled as the
number of wounded increased. Only
: wifl-power and nerve kept them going
until help arrived on the third day and
afforded them a few hours rest.
From July Is to 25 1865 cases from
The field were received and 52S from
another field hospital; 31OS cases were
redressed. Two thousand operations, in
Z, cluding $40 major ones, were performed.
Thrilling Story Follows
Sergeant Bollinger is a brother OF
K Mrs. J. II. Dare, 1919 South Fifty-ffth
street. Many Philadelphians are with
him in the unit.
The letter follows:
Receiving a clipping from your pa
per containing story of the operation
at Scissors, related by Miss Elizabeth
Dewey, a Red Cross nurse. We were
very greatly interested in Miss Dewey's
tale, as It was our organization, Field
Hospital Company No. IL, with which
4 Miss Dewey was connected during the
battle. We would like to add to her
narrative the part our field hospital
4 played in one, IL not the most important
engagement participated in by the
American troops.
"A field hospital is a mobile unit
which functions as close to the battle
front as possible, although at the battle
or Soissons we functioned some distance
pehind the lines in a small town in
which the historic Castle Pierrefonds is
situated We arrived here direct from
the Cantigny front on the evening of
the l7th Of. July, 1913, and opened our
hospital in the Hotel des Ruines, d.
rectly at the foot of Pierrefonds Castle
me rooms here and an adjoining hotel
were prepared as wards for the
wounded. The operating room was
situated in this hotel. An X-ray unit
was attached to us and played a very
important part in our operations. as II
located all bullets and shrappel frap.
ments almost as fast as the surgeons
could extract them.
STAFF of But Ninety-two
Our personnel consisted of eighty
three men and nine officers. Major VII.
"A
Inc pattle started on the morning Of
\ the July IS, and the first patieuts he.
gan arriving at a. m We we're ,Ir
against a big proposition which we be-
Z gan TO realize at the end of the first
uay. wounded were lying all around the
nospltal, the ground being covered with
ntters, hardly allowing room to walk
d TWO operating tables and a dressing
table were in operation. Major Snod
grass, Major Edmundson. Catalr
MOTIFS, Captain Luckett, Lieu
tenant q. Brown. Lieutenant McPhail
LieutenAntf Mckinley and I.ieutenan
spencer who comprised our off
GERS, were divided into operating teams
and went to work the morning of the
I 18th and operated continuously for
flfty-two hours without sleep and onlI
a few minutes snatched between opera
ttons in which to eat. On the third day
the officers and men, also two nurses
who were with us through all battles
e presented a very weary appearance, none
! of them having had any rest for two
whole days and nights. The strain tolt
and most of them kept going automatic
ally, being upheld alone by the nervous
tension under which they labored.
Help Finally Arrives
''The third day help arrived in tn
shape of operating teams from the nav,
"a and base hospital No. 46, also nearly al
the personnel of Field Hospital Compan,
No. 2 and a detachment OF engineers
Fl Major Joyce, Captain Lahr, Captail
Jones. Captain Tanner, Captain Nc
Y Comber, Captain Ross, Captain Cole
Captain Le Conte. Captain Lyon, Cap
tain McKeath. Lieutenant Garrison
& Lieutenant zieglemoer, Lieutenant Rob
artson, Lieutenant Davis, Lieutenant Co
berth, Miss Dewey and three othe
nurses comprised the new teams. w
now had twelve operating teams in al
Four tables were put in operation wit
one dressing table 20 redress slightl
wounded before evacuation. Shifts O
eight hours were arranged with fou
teams to one shift. Our men and officer
n were now able to have a few hours
greatly needed rest. They had all stoo,
the test and had not been found wanting