Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-01-02
j. Y. N. men IN
THE GREAT WAR
Some Write of Their Experiences
Overseas While Others La
ment the Turn of Affairs
Which Kept Them On This
Side of the Water

Some Of the experiences Of q medical
man in the great war are given in the let
ter recently received at the University Of
Vermont from Lieut.. James L. Lovejoy Of
the class Of 1914 and Of the town of Wes-
ton. Lieut.. Lovejoy is now stationed at
Evacuation Hospital No. IS, with the
American Expeditionary forces. He
writes: After spending nearly three
months at Camp Greenleaf. learning four
right and tours left and other noisy calls
equally valuable for an NJ. d.. to know, I
ordered to report at Camp Lee to thu
commanding officer of Evacuation fins-
pital No. 15. That complied with, I oru-
ceeded to spend the hottest two months
and a little more Of my life doing soms
more drilling and setting up exercises On
the 22nd Of August we actually started
across the big ocean in the good ship
princess Matrika." We had a most
wonderful trip. more or less excitement
from some real submarine attacks, and
almost daily abandon ship drills, a very
interesting novelty to most of us but very
tedious, being IL days on the voyage.
We landed at Brest and marched to the
~Pontanezeen barracks. a prison camp of
Napoleon. This was supposed to have
DNeih " ASoS NhihP out ~ q OsSiJ lining
but that. We remained here O week then
started on a four days and nights jour
ney across France In the most uncomfort-
able train I never hope or expect to see. No
lights. no heat. baked beans, French
bread and corned willie" for eats. I
never can quite forget 1t. We stopped
finally at a camp at Mimancourt and after
a weeks stay again boarded a train and
next stopped at Revigny. This was a very
beautifully and attractively established
hospital. From there various teams were
sent up front and other hospitals to get
war wise. After two weeks the unit was
ordered to Glorieux on the Meus river and
the various teams called in. Here we have
been since October Is and how much
longer we may remain is not known.
It is a mail village two kilometers west
Of Verdun. Unit the armistice was
signed. not a day passed that shells did
not break over US and all about us. We
were never hit, not because the Germans
could not. but I'm sure they did not care
to. We were the nearest to the front
lines Of any evacuation hospital and had
no railroad to evacuate by, but thou
sands Of patients passed through here
and were evacuated by ambulances to
another station and then sent back by
rail. The unit was cited for the good
work 1t did.
Life In the army is so different from
what most Of us are accustomed to. The
medical man who goes into the army
with the idea that he Is going to derive
some great material benefit for himself
Ia very apt to be disappointed. No mat
ter what he may think he a do. he is
given to do that which, in the mind of
his commanding officer. he seems best
, fitted to do. 1t la be mess officer or
detachment commander or evacuating
officer.
Now we are hoping to be back in
the wonderful United States. 1t seems
to us that we are equally as much needed
there as here, in view Of the flu cpl
demic. The men and boys are safer here,
but we all want to get home. Not one
of US but what win appreciate more
han ever before what a wonderful home
and we have.
LAS to our needs, I can say very little
We are very we'll cared for, good food
and plenty of 1t, and good places In
which TO sleep"
In concluding, Lieut.. Lovejoy says he
has not met a U. ". NJ. man since he
came to France, but hopes to before he
leaves.