The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-13
PERSHING IN TEARS
ON SEEING MANNED
Wounded Tell How General
Made Paternal Visit to
Hospital Ship.
MERCY BRINGS 381 MEN
Six Other Transports Bring
Total Of About 1000
Doughboys.

The ships are coming along in a con-
| tinuous chain. linking the shores OF
France with those of America. Seven
big and little ones got here yesterday
with 1000 doughty doughboys.
The hospital ship Mercy had the best
collection OF war tales. nearly every
narrator having wounds and many with
missing legs or arms There were ISL
wounded officers and men aboard the
Mercy and most of them were in cots in
the several wards OF the seagoing hos
ptal
The wounded were particularly de-
sirous that everybody on this side of the
sea should know what a fine. sympat hetic
man is at the head of the army in
France, the same being Gen. John j. Per-
shng. lie came down to the Mercy at
! Bordeaux and maze a special visit to
the men whose legs or arms and some
times both legs and arms had been
cut off.
General Acts Like Father.
The wounded said the General was
down his cheeks as he shock hands with
tho patients. When he found language
1t was Of the simplest sort and praised
| the valor of the youngsters. In the
surgical ward the Generals presence
was more appreciated than elsewhere.
They even cheered him. and he surely
cheered them, as one of them said yes
| terday.
The attitude of the General was pater-
hand of a marine-the only one he had
| left-and remarked You boys are
wonderful fighters" The marine who
| had only one leg to match his lonesome
| arm. smiled deprecatingly. as ST he
might have disputed it with anybody
else except the Great Boss OF the shoot
| ing match.
| Gen. Pershing took stock Of everything
\ aboard the Mercy, which suited her com
mander. Capt. O. i. Webb. quite down
TO the ground or, a > he might have said.
I the sea. The General was so we'll
| pleased with the condition of things
aboard that he congratulated The skipper
on the spick-spanness of the Mercy and
her superb sanitary and surgical equip
ment
| Yes, they are not afraid to perform
major operations at sea on the Mercy.
| There was the case of Sergeant Walter
!
fantry, suffering from a eunshot wound
| chat Is an old fashioned designation
that may mean\that anything except a
| 10 inch shell has passed through the
body that had played havoc with his
| lungs. liver, bladder, gall and other
| interior machinery.
| The shore surgeons had refused to
| NEEDLE with the case of Sergeant over
| ton. suspecting that they might send him
| TO join other good Americans who had
| gone through the portals in France
| Lieut.. W. A. Neil. surgeon. OF Portland
| Ore. when he is out of uniform, super
| vised the operation. and the sergeant
expects to have all his mysterious insides
| In perfect working order when he gets
TO his home in Seymour, Conn.
Takes Southern Course.
The Mercy took her time coming here
so she would not upset the nerves OF
the shipfull OF convalescents. Her com
mander took an extreme southern
course. which meant time and coal ex-
| penditure. He remembered the remark
OF Gen. Pershing, Nothing is too good
! for these boys and he said mentally
Cthe regulations preventing him from
| saying II out loud), ITO hell with the
expense" stu. wishing to be sure OF
not being held up through lack OF coal
he put into the Azores for fresh sup
ply. Then he put right out again. as
| he found about all the ships ever
launched by the Shipbuilding Corpora
ton there before him waiting to get
their bunkers replenished
Then he laid a course for Bermuda
The weather was summerlike and when
he got to Bermuda he sized up the coal
| In his bunkers and decided that Provi-
dence just couldn't help being on his
| side and took a chance for tho L. s. A.
| He got here with tons to spare after
one of the most placid trips in any
! body's history.
Naturally the manned men had stor-
| les. Here is one from Private John !.
Reynolds (most of the folk with stories
| belong TO that vast aggrega ton ~ plain