The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-01-31
LIEUT.. TIERNEY
is ENTERTAINED
BY THE WOUNDED
Pvt. Houser Of 314th Infan-
try Proves a Fine Story
Teller
DOCTOR HEARS TALES
A Rafting Good Hospital Story
From French and
Camp"

/ lamp
The portable dressing table of
LieSt. Tierney was being pushed
through the main entrance of ward
No. 10, and Private Houser of Ma
chine Gun Company, 314th Infantry,
18th Division, who suffered badly
shattered right foot, looked up, snli-
ed and said:
"Hello, Doc, what can we do for
you?'
Now it so happened that Houser
was the patient and Lieut.. Tierney
the physician, so the latter replied;
Nothing, my boy. I'm here to give
that dressing of yours the once over. =
A little while before Houser had
the misfortune to fall in getting out
Of bed, and the wound, which had not
troubled him in weeks, was paining
him so that he could scarcely find a
comfortable position. Private Eng
stadt of the 1st Division, who bears
an ugly mark on his left leg from the
scissors encounter, jumped out OF
/ bed and ran to Houser's side.
"Let me help you, Doc" said the
Scissors hero, who hobbled over on
one leg.
Lieut.. Tierney soon discovered that
Houser's recent hurt was not serious
and reassured the Meade fighter that
ne would soon be all right. Mean
while Engstadt stood on one foot and
held his companions leg while the
surgeon reudjusted the dressing.
"Does it hurt !. much, old MANI
asked the lieutenant. a.-
e3No, go ahead sir. My middle
name is PAIN" said Houser.
The surgeon talked over the troub-
les of the various fellows about him
and explained how they would be get
ting along very rapidly soon.
There was no need for an effort to
''brace them up" The boys had all
the 'pep" in the world. Houser was
looked upon by those about him as a
show all by himself. He told a story
Of how his company was waiting
Palong a roadway swept by machine
gun fire when a sniper's bullets were
heard Kissing over their heads every
moment or so.
Finally" said Houser, zone of our
men declared that he would get the
sniper regardless of danger, so he
took his Browning gun and set it up
right in the middle of the road. He
had no idea where the German was
perched, but he turned his gun back
and forth and let the bullets go where
they would. Presently he cried,
'LookH and we turned to the woods
nearby which he was sweeping with
his fire and q German sniper was seen
falling from a lofty position to earth,
a victim Of his courage and deter
mination."
"How did you get yours?" asked
the 'tY" man.
ooh, I just tried to stop a whole
SHE'LL" said Private Romans of Com
pany K, 9th Infantry, I'd Division,
who really had Il wounds in him
when the surgeons stopped counting.
His legs are SO badly hurt that he
/ does not try to do any going about.
He was unconscious more than two
weeks after being hurt.
"And what do you think? I met
my old sergeant" continued Romans,
a Kentuckian, "and I had not seen
him since left the company on the
firing line months ago. I was being
taken out Of the train and put in an
ambulance at Disney the other night
when my old friend, Sergt. Conway,
was brought in and placed in the
same ambulance. He is in a private
room in ward IS and was operated on
yesterday, but think he is doing
nicely"
Incidentally, Romans cleared up a
situation regarding the charge that
American artillery was poorly trained
and killed many of their own side.
"They did fire on many of their
own men," said Romans, "but this
was not their own fault generally, as
the doughboys advanced beyond the
objectives marked out for them and
thus ran into the barrage. I was a
doughboy myself and know whereof
| speak"
Houser declared that he was wound
ed by high explosive shell on the
Verdun front and that Col. Curry and
his Meade boys were advancing splen-
didly when the shot came which laid
Houser and a number of his company
low. One of the group then told I;
4
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