The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-05-07
Half of Kansas Physicians Were
Sworn in u. S. Service.
DR.. w. S. Lindsay, Topeka, Re-
ports at Ottawa Convention.
442 MEDICAL men CASUALTIES
DIR. ]. G. MissiIdine, Parsons,
Gives Description of Battles.
Says If 35th Lacked Artillery
1t Was Unavoidable.

Ottawa, Kan, May I'm opening
the fifty-third annual convention of
the Kansas Medical society here to-
day, DR.. w. S. Lindsay of Topeka,
president of the society, read list of
645 names of Kansas physicians who
were sworn into the United States
service as medical officers during the
war. This comprises nearly half the
doctors in Kansas. The total member
ship of the society before the war
including aged and infirm-was 1,40O.
He pointed out what the sacrifice
meant to each of these men, not only
in personal dangers. but in loss of
practice. He stated that total casual
ties. to the American medical men
were 442.
Doctors Trials In war.
A paper was read by DIR. J. G. Mis-
sildine of Parsons, who was close UP
| to the fighting men during the wiping
out of the st. Mihiel sector and later
was on duty at field dressing stations
on the Argonne forest battle where he
was gassed in October and was in a
| hospital until after the armistice was
signed. His subject was My Expert
ences at the Front" Experiences in
the two engagements, the doctor said,
were entirely different, for the st. Mi
hiel drive which started on September
IL was in the open and it was with
exceeding difficulty that the medical
men dressed the wounded men and
meanwhile kept up with the Fighting
Yankees" Doctor Missildine said:
| "Our sector lay almost Immediately in
her had been taken three times by the
| French. but always lost Altho these at
| tempts had cost over thirty thousand lives,
| the front line had not been advanced. On
| the day before the drive. n conference of
we we We're Informed That this eneagement
was to be a bloody battle. Our intelligence
| force had reported tremendous fortified
| tons in the side and back of Mt Sec, which
was only separated from us by couple of
kilometers of low, flat ground. in perfect
the most pleasant. but if 1 could give you
some idea of the extent of the artillery
preparation you would better understand
! why we felt confident and why the ad
vance was such a glorious success. 1t be
! gan at midnight. We took our position
| in little ruined village by the name of
| Ramblicourt. Just few rods back of us
| were the ISIS. Innumerable they were. and
| spIendidly effective. A short way back of
| these were the 1j5s and still farther back
| the heavier field pieces and tho coast de-
| tense guns. which had been mounted for
| the especial purpose of battering Mt. Sec.
| The enemy were Smelling us only little
before midnight, and l was dressing the
| first lot that came in. when our barrage
9penendd a. WIS ta In;, tf bnt II wlsh
possible to give any conception of such an
affair. AS far to the left and as far to the
| right as one could see were the flames from
| belehing guns. The din was awful. This
continued until a. IN, when we started
over. The advance was made RAPIDLY; the
| enemy offering little resistance. They had
| sought safety in dugouts. 1t will be re-
mehlbered seventeen thousand prisoners
were taken the first day. Great stores of
supplies were left behind and the salient
| obiiterated the second day.
All Kinds of Wounds.
zone every conceivable type Of
disorders, chiefly neuroses. which are
looked into as carefully as time will per-
init to determine whether or not they are
genuine
"All of the medical corps men are skilled
| in dressing wounds and in emergency
treatment in general Morphine to prevent
shock and relieve pain was freely used and
was of great value. Antitetanic serum was
kused as a routine measure, If not in the
field then at the ambulance dressing sta
sharp criticism frequently. came along
from the medical officers farther back be-
cause of the failure to properly dress frac-
lures but to any one who has followed an
advancing outfit of enthusiastic Yankee
whatever is done must be done quickly or
from the battalion. and of course are of no
further service to them.
35th's Artillery Support
I'VE peXt were sent into the Argonne
sector near Nerdun, where my division re-
lieved the Thirty fifth. on October 1. This
was quite different from the sector we
had just left; the resistance was stubborn.
enemy machine nests were everywhere we
explosive, shrapnel and gas. 1t has been
said that We lacked artillery support. which
may be true but if so, unquestiOnably I'M
avoidable. The constant Smelling OF the
roads made traffice almost impossible
Here l was transferred to the regimental
dressing station which was located in the
demolished village of Charpentry; we used
a dugout from which the Germans had been
driven and from here evacuated the casual
ties from the battalions in advance of us.
lFrhe number of wounded and dead constant
ly increased which kept all working
day and night with little time for rest.
Many of my friends and men had learned
1 to like and admire were killed or sent back
| wounded, among them my orderly, boy II
or Is years old, who had served me most
faithfully. He was hit by shell which
mutilated an arm and almost imnedia tel v
killed by another. Nearly all of the first
aid men with the regimental dressing sta
| tion were gassed OF wounded. About j
o'clock the morning of October , l was
gassed which incapacitated me for work
L was yet unable to return to my regiment
when the armistiee signed.