They took the oath of allegiance July 2, 1918, and reported at New York on July 4. There they were equipped by the Red Cross with uniforms for overseas duty and were given the necessary military training by an army officer.
The officers and enlisted men, of whom there were thirty-six of the former and two hundred of the latter, in charge of Dr. Dana, reported at Fort McHenry, and when they were ready the Sisters and nurses joined them there. Its chaplain was the Rev. Godfrey P. Hunt, O. F. M., of Washington, D. C.
Thus completed, the unit sailed August 4 on the Umbria, which ship was afterward lost with Italian troops in the Adriatic. The second day out the work of the unit began, when fifteen men, who had been struggling with the waves in a row boat for twenty-four hours, were picked up. They belonged to the O. A. Jennings, oil tank, which had been torpedoed. They were given treatment by the unit, which turned back with them for a day's journey; then, given supplies, they were started toward land, which was in sight. The gratitude of the rescued men amply rewarded the unit for its work of mercy.
The Umbria was without convoy, and though in one night alone it received fourteen warnings of submarines, it threaded its perilous way in safety, and on August 18 reached Gibraltar, where a stop of three days was made. The officers and nurses were given shore leave, and put in their time visiting places of interest.
On August 21 the start for Genoa was made, which port was reached on the 27th. The American Ambulance Corps, with a band of music, met the unit at the boat, and Italian officers went aboard to greet the Americans in the name of the Italian Government. The Sisters and nurses were taken to the Victoria Hotel, while the commanding officer, Colonel Hume of Frankfort, Ky., and Lieutenant Colonel Dana, went to Rome to secure a place at the front for the base hospital.
The place selected was Vicenza, about fifteen miles from the firing line. It was located in the Rossi Industrial School, which in olden days had been a Dominican convent.
Here for seven months the Americans carried on their work of mercy and during that time three thousand patients were cared for, of which number only twenty-eight were lost, and they were victims of the influenza, which was very severe in that locality. It was a remarkable record, the lowest loss of any of the American units. The 332d regiment of Ohio boys was in the section. The Ambulance Corp, composed chiefly of college men, did excellent work. The Sisters found the Italians very grateful, and their admiration for the Americans was great. There were many gas cases, and while hundreds had their eyes badly burned, such was the success attending the treatment they received, not one patient suffered the loss of his sight. A great deal of good was also done by the Sisters and the chaplain in bringing back neglectful soldiers to their religious duty.
On several occasions air raids threatened the town, but as the Italian aviation force was superior to that of the enemy, no injury was done, although earlier in the year Vicenza had suffered severe bombardments.
As the work increased a second hospital was opened for Italians for medical cases exclusively. Besides Italian and American soldiers, British soldiers were also treated at the base hospital.
The signing of the armistice was joyfully celebrated in Vicenza, and so keenly did the Italian people recognize that the ending of the war was largely due to America, it was a common occurrence for American soldiers to be caught up and carried in triumph through the streets by the emotional Italians.