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
“Don’t worry about getting up yet,” said the chief cook kindly. “Sleep
a little longer. You are not in my way.” But the two men thanked him
and declined to rest longer.
“Where are you going to chow?” asked the chief cook.
The Salvationists allowed that they didn’t know.
“Well, you boys line up with this outfit, see?” insisted the chief
cook. “We eat three times a day and you’re welcome to everything we
have!”
This settled the question of board, and after a good breakfast the two
started out to report to the General in command.
He greeted them most kindly and made them feel welcome at once.
When they asked about the barn he smiled pleasantly:
“That Colonel of yours is a fine fellow,” he said. “He told me that
there was only one place in this town that would do for your hut and
that was my garage. He said he was afraid he would have to ask me to
move my car. Just as though my car were of more importance than the
souls of my men! Gentlemen, you can have anything you want that is mine
to give. The barn is yours! And if there’s anything I can do, command
me!”
It was a very dirty stable and needed a deal of cleaning, but the
strong workers bent to their task with willing hands, and soon had it
in fine order. There was no possibility of mending the roof, but they
camouflaged the old tent top and ran it up inside, and it kept the rain
and snow off beautifully. Of course, it was no protection against
shells, but when they commenced to arrive everybody departed in a hurry
to the nearby dugouts, returning quietly when the firing had ceased.
The nights were so cold that they had to sleep with all their clothes
on, even their overcoats. Often in the mornings their shoes were frozen
too stiff to put on until they were thawed over a candle. One soldier
broke his shoe in two trying to bend it one morning. Sometimes the men
would sleep with their shoes inside their shirts to keep the damp
leather from freezing. Two yards from the stove the milk froze!
A field range had been secured and the chimney extended up from the
roof for a distance of forty or fifty feet. It smoked terribly, but on
this range was cooked many a savory meal and tens of thousands of
doughnuts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account