The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-07
|ALABAMA'S GIRLS MAKE WONDERFUL
 RECORD IN THEIR OVERSEAS WAR WORK

"All of the returned soldiers speak
 of how much the comradeship of the
 American women from their own be-
 loved homeland meant to them during
 thei, stay abroad I commented.
 .'The boys just longed for compan-
 ionship," Miss Sproull replied. At our
 canteen they just loved having the
 girls come and sit down and, have a
 meal with them. There were "Y' girls,
 Red Cross girls, army nurses, A. L. A.
 representatives Y. w. C. A girls, J.
 W. B. girls and French and Red Cross
 nurses. It was a center intended for
 enlisted men, but officers were always
 W elcome and officers were always
 present, all having real honey
 time from the time the place opened
 till the day it closed. There was one
 officer who came thrice daily
 after meals for a cup of coffee. He
 pronounced "Y'' coffee the best in
 Parts. They were all appreciative
 those boys of ours and there were lots
 of them. more than 5000 days, most
 of them on three-day permission i1
 Paris. who came to us for meals and
 American panionship. So many
 times they would come, one by one,
 and thank us for the things the "
 was doing for them. Some of the boys
 in the camps couldn't quite become
 reconciled to the things that were be- Ing QOnc lOI lHc AlSH HI et Ao "AA~AA there was so much to do in Paris.
 Uncle Sam looked after the boy in camp, but Paris didn't care, and the boy from the camp who was lucky enough to come to Paris for three day leave had rather strenuous time unless somebody systematically helped him enjoy it. This the Y. M C. A. dld for the boys who wanted to see what was worth while. It provided hotels fOr btr1, r,la nf recreation where he could also find food. It provided automobile trips over Paris, walking 1 trips to places of interest and took him to the battle front. Three days seemed a very little while in 8 great city, but some of our boys could write volumes about what they really saw 1 in so short a time. l often marveled 1 at it. was in the casino at Nice | Ca Y M c. A. center) one afternoon watching the crowd when two lovely l looking boys came over to say, we l just want you to know how much we appreciate what the 'Y" is doing Tor us No othSr army has ever had any | thing like this done for it, and we've had the time of our lives down here.
 It was wonderful thing for the I American girl to be permitted by her l government to go to France to be the | comrade of her brother; it was fine 1 of the people at home to make it pos l sible for her to go, and I'm glad it fell to my lot to go with the Y. M. c. A.
 There is a picture in my memory l continued Miss Sproull, that came to me only a few days before l lett France-one that l love to think oi often. one that I wish every mother 1 whose son was a marine or a member l of our Twenty sixth division could see as 1 saw it. It was picture o1
 the battle front near Paris in June ] that part of the front near Rheims (which the French clung to so heroic ally for the four years Of the war l where 60 900 sons of France gave theil life's blood for the love of France As far as the human eye can see tt ! the north and the south, to the easl i and the west there are rows and rows of trenches. and in June they were blood red with poppies-France's deao 1 resurrected to celebrate the peace ol 1 the world. And on beyond. toware Paris. in the shadow of the eastern l slope of Belieau Wood. there is a company of little white crosses ] Americas S heroes who turned the Hut l back and made possible the peace ol l the world.
 1 During the past week Mrs. Emme l w. Ledbetter received letters iron | Hazop Derovanesian, former Wei l known Armenian, who was with tn l soldiers encamped at Mcclellan an' 1 also one from his sister 'sin Armenia l Marian Derovanesian. Both expresse heart felt appreciation for the splendi ] aid extended to the Armenian sufferer by patroitic AnnistonianS. They als | told of the continued suffering and per I secutions the Armenians are enduring | making the people of our home lan' realize the necessity for further sacri 1 flee in order to alleviate the widesprea l dis,ress of these unfortunate people