With the Doughboy in France: A Few Chapters of an American EffortHungerford, Edward
History
With the Doughboy in France: A Few Chapters of an American Effort
Hungerford, Edward
American National Red Cross; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
"Lieutenant Bero of the outpost station and I went to the Red Cross
headquarters at Beauvais, but found that we would have to get the things
from Paris and that that would be practically impossible within the time
limit. However, we decided to make a try for it, and so left Beauvais in
a small camion at 10:30 o'clock in the evening. At a railroad station on
the way we had a collision that did for our camion completely.
Fortunately there were no serious injuries. We left the disabled car by
the roadside about halfway to Paris and begged a ride on a French truck
that happened along. We reached Paris at 4:30 Sunday morning. Red Cross
officers had to be aroused and tradesmen routed out--no easy task on a
Sunday morning--but we had to have the supplies, and so did it. By 9:30
we had a new camion, already loaded with cigars and cigarettes from the
Red Cross warehouse, and lemons and tartaric-acid tablets from the shops
of Paris.
"About a quarter of the way back we had trouble with the new camion and
had to call for help again. This unpleasant and delaying experience was
twice repeated; so that, in fact, the entire load was thrice transferred
before it was finally delivered. But--please notice this--the entire
camion load of supplies was delivered at Chrepoix--two hours later than
the allotted time, to be sure, but still in plenty of time to serve the
purpose. Several days later I found two boys in one of the hospitals who
told me of their experiences in the Cantigny attack. They spoke of the
lemonade and said that they had never before known that lemons and
tartaric acid could taste so good to a thirsty man.... I think that our
trip was worth while."
In July of that same year, 1918, while serving hot drinks, cigarettes,
and sandwiches to the American wounded in the field hospital at
Montfontain, Captain Karr was severely wounded in the hip by the
explosion of an aërial bomb.
* * * * *
In the space of a single chapter--even of enlarged length such as
this--it would be quite impossible to trace serially or chronologically
the development of the vast field service of our Red Cross. In fact I
doubt whether that could be done well within the confines of a book of
any ordinary length. So I have contented myself with showing you the
beginnings of this work, back there in the districts of the Somme and
the Oise at the beginning of the great German drive and have let the men
who knew of that service the best--the men who, themselves, participated
in it--tell you of it, largely in their very own words. And so shall
close the long chapter with the war-time story of a man who, like
Kimball of Boston, is fairly typical of our Red Cross workers in the
field.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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