The War Romance of the Salvation ArmyHill, Grace Livingston
History
The War Romance of the Salvation Army
Hill, Grace Livingston
World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- Salvation Army
Over here they had to give up huts. No huts at all were allowed so near
the front. No light of fire or even stove, no lights of any kind or
everything would be destroyed by shell fire at once. An order went out
that all huts near the front must be under ground. Yet neither did this
daunt the faithful men and women whom God Himself had sent to help
those boys at the front.
The work was extended to other camps in the Gondrecourt area and
finally the time came for the troops to move up to the front to occupy
part of a sector.
III.
The Toul Sector
Headquarters of the First Division were established at Menil-la-Tour
and that of the First Brigade at Ansauville. Information came on
leaving the Gondrecourt Area, that the district would be abandoned to
the French, so the wooden hut at Montiers was moved and set up again at
Sanzey, which then became the Headquarters of the First Ammunition
Train. Huts were established at Menil-la-Tour and other points in the
Toul Sector.
It took three days to erect the hut at Sanzey, but within an hour the
field range was set up, and a piece of tarpaulin stretched over it to
keep the rain off the girls and the doughnuts.
Hour after hour the girls stood there making doughnuts, and hour after
hour the line moved slowly along waiting patiently for doughnuts. The
Adjutant went away a little while and returned to find some of the same
boys standing in line as when he left. Some had been standing five
hours! It was the only pastime they had, just as soon as they were off
duty, to line up again for doughnuts.
The hut at Sanzey was used mostly by men of an Ammunition Train. As in
other places where the Salvation Army huts catered to the American
troops, an all-night service of hot coffee or chocolate and doughnuts
or cookies was provided for the men as they returned from their
dangerous nightly trips to the front. When men were killed their
comrades usually brought them back and laid them in this hut until they
could be buried. One night a man was killed and brought back in this
fashion. The chaplain was holding a service over his body in the hut.
The Salvation Army man was talking to the man who had been the dead
lad’s “buddie.” “I wish it was me instead of him, Cap,” said this
soldier, “he was his mother’s oldest son and she will take it hard.”
The Salvation Army was told that Ansauville was too far front for any
women to be allowed to go. They felt, however, that it was advisable
for women to be there and determined to bring it about if possible. On
scouting the town there was found no suitable place in any of the
buildings except one that was occupied as the General’s garage. The
Salvation Army was not permitted to erect any additional buildings as
it was feared they would attract the fire of the Germans, for
Ansauville was well within the range of the German guns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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