Evening star., 1943-05-30
Nozis Proved Whining Patients
In Hospital After African Rout
Friendly Americans and Gu|IibIe Nurses
Bubied Them-for Short While
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star staff CORRESPONDENT.

'S sSt
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star Staff Correspondent.
TUNISIAN FRONT (By Mall
The night after the big surrender,
front-line evacuation hospital here
afforded one of the strangest spec
tacles in the history of warfare
German and American patients in
the same wards, German playing
popular American tunes on violin,
the prisoners having complete free
dom of the grounds.
1t was altogether too idealistic for
common sense, and hospital author
tiles had to put a halt to the baby
ing of men Who, only a few hours
before, had been killing American
soldiers. Moreover, some of them
gave every evidence of being bad
customers - however ingratiating
their ways when they had something
to gain by it.
The strange scene continued for
at least one night, not altogether to
the liking Of some of the United
States Medical Corps soldiers who
found themselves with wards full of
complaining prisoners. Three
fourths of the patients were Ger
mans. taken from nearby prison
bivouac.
A few hours before they them
selves had occupied the hospital. an
old French institution they had
taken over. 1t had been evacuated
in the path of the American ad-
vance but in a very short time the
patients found themselves in their
old beds again with what appeared
to be much better treatment than
they had received from their own
medical officers and orderlies.
They soon learned, or thought
they learned. that Americans are
soft and men who really were
only slightly hurt began calling
piteously for the nurses and de-
manding all sorts of little atten-
tions. The soft-hearted girls we're
gullible enough and waited on the
solicitude of little mothers.
In one of the wards around mid
night all was peaceful except for
the loud snores of some of the Ger
mans and groans of one man. BY
that time a thoroughly disguised
United States Medical Corps cor
poral was on duty there and let the
Nazi moan. The patient. he ex-
planned, was one of the Afrika Korps
outstanding heroes sergeant who
was credited with knocking out IA
American tanks single-handed. He
was loaded with ribbons and medals.
His only injury was a broken arm
which had been cared for by one
Of Americas best orthopedic sur
geons. 1t is highly doubtful that
he was in any pain at all
1T just shows how yellow these
fellows are" said the corporal when
they are not winning 1 might feel
different about it if I hadn't seen
bunch of British, strafed Oh a
ship, brought in here few hours
ago. All of them were badly hurt
and it was commendable how they
took it compared to this fellow"
One man was glad to be prisoner
because he expects to be taken to
the United States, be released there
at the end of the war. and settle
down. He had been trying to get
there before the war but never could
get visa.
You don't suppose there will be
any trouble about?" he asked You
don't think Americans might be mad
at us Germans?' He was so con-
fident that it was a pity to shatter
his illusions.
At this point hard-faced Sergt.
Doktor Angel commented that Amer
leans should have nothing AGAINST
him because it was he who had de-
signed and built the sumptuous bar
not in use-for German medical
officers. Eventually, he felt, the
American doctors would be grateful
to him.
The extreme consideration for
prisoners during the first few hours
can only be explained by the novelty
of the situation in which American
nurses and soldiers found them
selves. They had never dealt with
prisoners before and had open ears
for tear jerking stories. The pic
ture was changed as soon as the
hospital commandant learned what
was going on.
Treatment of the prisoner patients
and medical corps soldiers was
quite problem from the first to
the Red Cross workers at the hos
pital. Throughout the campaign
they had stayed closer to the front
than any other Red Cross girls.
Once, in February, they had been
evacuated into the mountains with
all their belongings in musette bags,
barely in time to escape, and had
at once set to work organizing what
facilities they had to receive the
first wave of American wounded.
After that they had no particular
fancy for the whining Germans.
But the other night they were
leaning over backwards not to show
any obvious partiality against the
late enemies. Among the girls was
Barbara Brandon of Indianapolis,
first Red Cross girl in an evacuation
hospital in North Africa, and Edith
Take Of st. Louis, a former Mis-
souri, school teacher.
The obvious streak of yellow IN
the German patients was rather