The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-03
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

I was sitting in my corner in the news room of the Age-Herald Monday morn ing, wishing that had something to write about; but somehow my mind re- fused to work. and I got up to go out and see what could find on the streets.
 
 Just across from my desk Harper, the cartoonist has his work place. From time to time fellows drop in to see him and watch him as he draws. I saw a big clothes lounging near him, but was on the eve of passing without giving him thought.
 Harper stopped me and said, 'Dr. Bar nett. I want to introduce my brother, Will Ham, I acknowledged the introduction in rather perfunctory way. 1 believe did murmur T am glad to meet you" but didn't show any enthusiasm until our cartoonist added, He is just back from overseas" It was then I became all at- tention for have long since learned not only to respect the home coming boys for what they have done, but for what I can get out of them in the way of reminis- cences.
 I have found that most of them are a rather secretive lot. but that if will sit tight for awhile and play like I am fed up'' on war stories, coupled with few leading questions, I can get them going, and then it's up to me to try and use 1t
 in an entertaining and instructive way. hold that one is liable to run across big news at any moment when real doughboy begins to talk about his ex- periences as fighting man.
 William H. Harper is Tennessean and looks the part. He is six feet and one inch in height and weighs 1s0 pounds and gives one the idea of agility coupled with great strength When the war opened he was student at the Middle Tennessee Nor mai school. and enlisted in the First Am bulance corps and was outfitted at Fort OgIethorpe and went to Fort Jay at Gov ernors Island, N. Y, where he spent a month before being entrained on the Adri- atic, landing at Glasgow, Scotland. From there he took train immediately for Southampton and thence to Havre. From Havre the corps was sent to Meyers which was it's base for six months. It was his business to drive an ambu- lance, a G. M. C., which was able to carry five in stretchers and one on the seat. It was his job to go as close to the firing line as possible and to get the wounded men from the stretcher bearers. On him was the responsibility of getting the men back to the base hos pital as quickly and as safely as pos- sble.
 He was nearest to the firing line at Gondricourt, and the battle of Chateau Thierry &ook place only about 90 miles away from Paris where he had been transferred. The wounded were brought to the city on trains and he had to get them and deliver them to the various hospitals. It was up near Gondricourt that he saw an ambulance just in front of him wrecked in shell hole.
 It was a member in the same corps with l him that brought Rickenbacker, the fa- nous aviator back to Paris, and he was in the operating room with him and as- sisting during the early morning when Eddie underwent an operation on the mastoid bone. The great American ace remained however, only a few weeks in bed and then got back into the flying game This was at the American Red Cross military hospital No. ?, having ac- commodations for between 1000 and A5oO men; but during the Chateau Thierry bat tie it was overrun.
 MT. Harper said that in all of his ex- perience covering a period of 19 months he never saw or heard an ambulance driv- CT who was not ready and willing at any his colors and drive his machine wherever it was needed; or aid in the operating room whenever called upon. The morale of the men was splendid to see, and he IS proud to have worked with such loyal set of good fellows.
 He was greatly impressed with Paris during his eight months stay. He got to see many of the noted places and comes back to America with his mind filled with the beauties of the great French capital He says that while Americans were to a certain extent ''held up'' in Paris that il was not near so bad as was the case ir the smaller towns and cities. He account. cd for this from the fact that so many | American civilians were in Paris as tt enable them to see to 1t that the sol
 dier boys were not gouged. 1 He says that Birmingham looks & l good to him that he has decided tt cast in his lot here and grow with the town. He has found a place with thu Birmingham Trunk Factory, and havinf been on the firing line in France anc having served in the hospitals, I reckon he will be able to put up with Joe Rosen' berger for awhile.
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