Friends of France : $b The Field Service of the American Ambulance described by its members — John Shaqi
Friends of France : $b The Field Service of the American Ambulance described by its membersVarious
History
Friends of France : $b The Field Service of the American Ambulance described by its members
Various
American Field Service; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
Often, when the fighting is heavy, not a man or a car of Section 3 is
to be found at Saint-Maurice. The repair car even will be driven to
some crossroads or sorting-point where our ambulances bring the wounded
from several dressing-stations. And Mr. Hill will be away in the staff
car dropping in upon the widely separated places where his men are
working to see that all is going well or to know the reason why.
Mr. Lovering Hill, at the outbreak of the war, was practising law in
New York City. He had been educated at Harvard and in Switzerland,
and, speaking French as well as English, and thoroughly understanding
the French temperament and people, he immediately enlisted with the
American Ambulance of Neuilly as a driver. In six months he was
promoted to the rank of squad leader, and, since last July, ranking as
a first lieutenant in the French army, he has been in charge of the
work of Section Sanitaire N{o} 3, succeeding Mr. Richard Lawrence, of
Boston, who had been compelled to return to the United States. Mr. Hill
believes in never letting the reins of discipline drag, and yet he gets
along famously with all except those who have a habit of recalling in
some way that they are volunteers.
A French lieutenant and an official interpreter are also attached to
the Section. We are partly under the control of the Sanitary Service
and partly of the Automobile Service. The French _personnel_ are a
link between the Automobile Service and our unit, and they are busy
from morning until night keeping abreast of the required reports, for
five-day reports must be made on the consumption of gasoline, the
number of miles run, the number of wounded carried, the oil, carbide,
and spare parts needed, the rations drawn, and, in great detail, any
change in _personnel_.
There are no orderlies or mechanics attached to our Section and each
driver is responsible for the upkeep and repair of his own car. We do
as much of this work as possible in the square where we park our cars.
So we patch tires, scrape carbon, and change springs while the church
bell rings persistently and mournfully for masses and funerals and
while the people who sit and watch us from their shop windows laugh at
our language as much as if they understood it.
In general charge of this work and of a blacksmith shop that we have
turned into a workroom is a so-called Mechanical Department composed
of the two drivers who know the most about automobiles. And so
successfully has the system worked out that, laymen though most of
us be, none of our "Chinese Rolls Royces" or "Mechanical Fleas"--as
an English Red Cross corps in the neighborhood has nicknamed our
Fords--has been so severely "punished" that its repair has been beyond
the power of its driver instructed and assisted by the Mechanical
Department.
[Illustration: A "POSTE DE SECOURS" IN THE VALLEY OF THE FECHT]
[Illustration: SHARING MEALS AT A POSTE]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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