Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 156, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1918 — AMERICAN NURSE IN FRANCE. [ARTICLE]

AMERICAN NURSE IN FRANCE.

By the kindness of Mrs. S. L. Jordan, of Barkley township, we are permitted to publish this interesting letter from her daughter, Netta, who is now in France and- who has seen much of the horrors of the great War ’ June 17, 1918, Paris, France. Dear Mother: Monday p. m. at the hospital. I wrote most of Homers letter Saturday and clipped it last night. I had a new ward of patients Saturday evening and that meant I worked all day yesterday. We had three hundred gas cases to come in. W« will lose about four, . Some of them are 'burned pretty badly and all of my cases have bad eyes and several have severe body burns. I have an orderly for the rough work and it keeps me humping with their irrigations and treatments for the twenty-two men and then medicines. There are only nine trays and they have to eat like blind men with their eyes bound up. The others go to mess. . . . , , xi. It is so wonderful to have the opportunity of taking care of Amerisan soldiers. . This hospital was started and is run iby the Red Cross yet, but may be turned over to the military at any time. I may be shifted to some point near the front or in a French hospital, where American soldiers are by the time you get this, wonder if my letter has reached you yet that I am in Paris. We were without an air raid for nine nights—till Friday night and there was a bad one. The planes reached Paris and several were killed and a big warehouse burned. This hospital is a city of wonderful double tents and I think it is going to be fine for me. I have never eaten so heartily since I was a growing child. I think I will gain in flesh even though I am working hard. The outdoor living certainly does agree with me. lam never going to depict to you the real horrors of war, but will tell you a story that one of the boys said. If General Sherman had been where I have been and said what he did of war he was tongue tied. A very human story occurred in my ward this morning. A chap from Mississippi was within a few feet of the bursting of a gas shell and was terribly burned on his head, eyes, lungs and body. He hasn’t been able to see a thing yet and when I. was irrigating his eyes this morning he said in a plaintive tone. “Do you think I will ever see again?” I always keep % a cheerful atmosphere in the minute so I replied “your eyes ore coming fine and one of these days you will really see what a homely nurse has been taking care of you.” He replied in his slow Southern drawl and .in. a tone that any one would know he had gone through real hell. “If you are like you are tending me, you are the most beautiful woman in the world.” I told Miss Leet the chief nurse, this story and she said that was a wonderful tribute to the service. I will get my suit this week. It will look first rate while it is new. Well I must clip this for the present and go and serve my boys meals. . As ever, NETTIE B.