Photo by International Film Service.
AMBULANCE MEN WORKING OVER A "GASSED" SOLDIER.
Of course I cannot know how much actual pain he felt, as it is possible that the gas deadened his nerves and yet caused him to twitch in this awful manner; but if poor "Frenchie" suffered any worse than I did in those few minutes, he is better off dead than living. Finally he turned a bluish green color and at last gave one great gulp and died. It was with heavy hearts that we carried him out and then I went back to the depot.
The Boches had made a terrific charge on about a quarter of a mile front, but were repulsed with very heavy losses. Naturally our brave boys were exulting over the fact that they had stood their ground and made the Germans quickly retreat, leaving numbers of their men upon the field. I was not very jubilant, however, because the thought of poor "Frenchie" was still in my mind. Then another shock came to me. I had gone back to the depot only to find my other comrade, Jean, lying on a piece of canvas on the floor with a bandage around his head. His face was turned away from me and a man was administering temporary treatment. I asked him what was the matter, and upon hearing my voice Jean answered for himself. "Well, I guess I got mine that time, but you can bet I gave a good account of myself first. It is all for La Belle France, anyway, and I am damn glad it happened!" He became weak then, and didn't speak any more. As soon as I got the chance, I asked the soldier standing by more particularly about the nature of the wound and he said in a low and faltering voice: "Jean will recover all right, for his wound is not fatal at all, but," and he broke down as he continued, "he'll never see light again. The poor fellow has both eyes shot out."
An then he told me what a wonderful fight Jean had put up first, accounting for four Germans in hand-to-hand fighting. Poor Jean! He will grope his way through life! But the thing that impressed me most was his inner feeling, "It's all for La Belle France, and I'm damn glad it happened!"
You can't whip a nation like that.