Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-30

" II ZEN Myron Gilmore went away to
the World War, and two-tflirds OF
N/ the town, wet-eyed cramnled the
~ small station to see the boys of,
he took girl he had called Sweet
Annie Laurie for the greater part of his life
into his arms, and there in the melee of
unIeashed emotions kissed her roundly and
soundy on her beautiful lips.
Let this last you, dear heart until return"
he said.
You know I will, without my saying it.
Myron."
And so she would have except for what
happened
War doomed on: the weeks stretched into
months and the months into years and in
small Middle Western town girl named
Laura Moore kept tryst and waited. 1t was
q fearful kind of waiting; the kind that caused
one to pick up every mornings paper with
bated breath, and the sight of a messenger
boy running up a flight Of front steps
sufficient to strike terror into the heart.
Strained waiting months of anxiety, mingled
with hope; of terror, mitigated by prayer.
& ND then one day, near Verdun, under an
exploding shell, that as it fell lighted the
& countryside in a wide white grin, Myron
Gilmore, crouching for attack felt the lower
hah of his face seem to move; take wings;
take flight. Almost just that had happened
One of those devastating facial accidents that
brought about the wonders of new science
called plastic surgery had befallen Myron tear
ing away part of the lower jaw and mutilating,
almost beyond recognition, the personable face
BE- the young man who had hidden Laura Moore
goed-by.
Then the same old story. Month after month
Ia hospital after another, where from
time to time the various experimental treat
m 2nts were tried out The wound had healed
fcirly well, but the great problem lay in
II bnpY
tried for purposes of filling out the shot away
Jaw and lower lip, but because of certain
hgament difficulties, the substance would not
hold and slowly but surely the impr Ased
structure of Myron's lower jaw would becin 10
collapse, revealing the upper line of hF side
teeth.
1t made him rather horrible And AZ the
months dragged on there developed in Myron
over this recurring tragedy of the exposed side
of his face, sensitiveness that was torture
and torment. Day after day, he lay on his
cot. face to wall concealing from even his
WardmateS what he regarded the horror Of
his countenance.
Months since he had ceased replying TO the
eager imploring letters that came from Laura
Then one day he resorted to a ruse. Two
weeks after the signing Of the armistice there
went across seas a letter to Laura Moore
bearing the tidings that Myron had died of
q septic infection of the jaw
That somehow made things simpler; easier
for Myron to bear. You could manage to go
through life with parafin jaw, If need to be,
Just SO long as you did not drag into the
torment of your little hell the lovely figure
a the girl whose lips your own had pressed in
promise of bright days to come
TT was at hospital in Paris they finally
succeeded in perfecting q lower jaw of
silver and parafin that held firmly and except
to the closely observing, the face of Myron,
With the exception Of rightly which sug-
g ssted partial paralysis, not any too notice.
ably SCARED. OF course it was obvious that
here was face somehow not of normal cast,
but it was not countenance to cause one to
recoil
In other words. but for the inevitable