Racine High School - Kipikawi Yearbook (Racine, WI)

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in the safest locality possible, usually near a road. Caves and dugouts make the best dressing stations but these cannot always be had and they have to be set up in one of the shell torn houses which are always in evidence. The station must be so arranged that it can be closed at night so that no light escapes and so that it is absolutely gas-proof.. One room is the dressing station proper, another the kitchen, and another a rest-room where the patients are placed awaiting trans- portation. The entrance is made gas- proof by hanging two blankets ten or Hfteen feet apart in the entrance hallway. The patient is carried in just past the first blanket and set down, the blanket is then pulled over the door, the second blanketis pulled back,andthelittercarried in without letting any gas into the sta- tion. In front of the station, constant watch is kept by a gas-guard who, at any sign of gas, gives the alarm, usually by striking an empty shell with a piece of metal, An auto klaxon is sometimes used if it can be obtained. The guard's duty is also to relay all alarms he hears from the direction of the front. Not too much emphasis can be laid upon the importance of the protection against the horrible effects of gas. Considering its numerous duties, the Ambulance Company, although but a cog in the great military machine, is of the most vital importance. The great task of keeping the army up to its original strength by the care and restoration of tl1e wounded is entirely dependent upon the promptness and efficiency of the work of the medical corp, of which the hlotor Ambulance Company is a unit. DONALD McELRoY, '2O. Qu Qtr Bail: un lunhun VVhile I was stationed in Iingland I had the opportunity of witnessing one of the last air raids on London by the Ger- 4. man air force. The airdrome in which I received my training was located just on the outskirts of the town of Rinslip, twelve miles from London. The evening upon which this air raid took place was a beautiful one in August, 1918. It was about 9:30 when I happened to look out of the hangar. I saw red rockets being shot into the air. I knew at once the Ujerrysw were coming over the Iinglish channel and were planning another raid on London. These rockets were to warn the people of the raid in order that they might seek some shelter, such as the subways of London. In a short time the search lights were turned on, searching the sky for anything that might Iook like an aeroplane. To watch the beams of light from the search- Iights is at wonderful experience. The operators of the lights had a method by which they could cover the whole sky and not miss a place. Vlhile I was watching the lights I heard a faint rumble. It was the anti-aircraft guns in action, one of the searchlight crew had spotted a plane. The light was centered on the plane and the poor 'fjerryf' had no chance at all. It is almost impossible to get out of the light if one is ever caught in it. The shells were bursting around the plane but didn't seem to have any effect. I could see what seemed to be a tiny speck of silver in the sky. Sure enough, it was one of the German Gothas. The guns ceased firing, and all of a sudden another silver speck appeared in the light. It was a plane sent up by the f'I.ondon Defense. This second plane was a single-seater pursuing-plane and was having a battle with the Gotha. Vkhile the air craft were battling with each other, they came closer and closer to the ground, and a spectator could al- most see the outline of the machines. The Gotha was a big bombing machine and the pursuit plane was a small light one, called a Camel. The Camel could

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Principal: Need'st not repeat. .lust would I know That thou thy mission hast ordained. Now to thy rest thou straight must go 'Til all thy normal strength's regained. Commencement: Great thanks, kind master, for that act Of kindness in my weary hour. Adicu. Upon thy work reflect, Vlihilst I regain my wonted power, CEM! Commenrfmfnt, fcmrfilyj. Principal: fSiglz1'ngj Once more upon the rock-strewn road A host of Graduates i've sent, I've burdened them with tortuous load, With cares and trials their young back bent. But. e'er the way of earth itls been. They can not guarded be from sin, They must lifeis grind, forsooth begin. fSigl1.r defply-shaker head 1'rjHectiw.flyD. Curtain. ELOISE PIERCE, '2O. The Qmhulancz Qllumpanp in Qctihz Service In accordance with modern army reg- ulations, the duties which a motor Am- bulance Company in active service is called upon to perform are three fold. The company's chief object is not only to transport the wounded carefully and rapidly, but also to look to the patient's condition and comfort as he starts the first lap of his long journey to the rear. The transportation section of the com- pany is composed of two complete sets of drivers and orderlies whose chief duty is to keep their respective ambulances in good running order day and night. The driver's task at the front is anything but an easy one, as he must drive his car at night without a single light and over roads that have been torn by shells, parts being under the enemy's fire continually. He is many times called upon to stay at the Wheel twenty-four to forty-eight A hours at a time, taking only a few minutes wherever he may find it for a bite to eat. The Wounded who need immediate atten- tion are carried in these ambulances to their own Company's dressing station to have wounds dressed before they make the longer trip to the Field Hospital. Here the most seriously wounded are operated upon if necessary, and the others are given a short rest before starting their journey back still farther to the Evacua- tion and Base Hospitals. The litter bearer's section of an Ambu- lance outfit is composed usually of the largest men. There are twenty to thirty in every company and they are called upon to go out to the battle field, admin- ister first aid, and carry the wounded, first to the Battalion Aid Station to have their wounds more properly dressed, then to the Regimental Aid where they may be picked up by the Companyis cars. These litter bearers sometimes carry patients several miles and their work is recognized by all of the other branches of service as the hardest kind of duty. Because they do not act for the destruction of the enemy, the litter bearers do not get their just credit in the eyes of those who are but watchers-but ask the man who comes into contact with them if he appreciates what the litter bearers have done for him. The dressing station section, as its name implies, looks to the dressing of the wounds of the patients as they are brought in. From fifteen to twenty men handle the operating of the station. The Wounded are taken from the ambulance into the station, where with the assistance of several non-commissioned ofiicers, the lieutenant in charge dresses the wounds. The patient is then taken to an adjoining room where he is given a Warm drink and kept covered warmly while resting. Everything that is possible is done for the comfort of the wounded soldier. A site for a dressing station must be chosen with some ingenuity. It must be

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easily out-maneuver the Gotha on account of its speed and lightness. In the midst of the battle l saw a bright red flame shooting from a machine which soon came spinning towards the ground. This was one of the German planes out of the way, but where were the rest? They must have started back again, for in a short interval the firing ceased and rockets were shot up again giving signals for all clearf, The next morning I learned that the plane that had been brought down was in a heap at Ealing Common, a suburb of London. Six Germans had lost their lives and the machine was nothing but a smoldering heap of junk. One of our motorcycle dispatch riders had been in the raid and he came back and told us that Jerry had done very little damage to London. A few buildings had been hit by the bombs and a few civilians had been killed, but this was nothing compared to the first raid on London. This dispatcher showed us a piece of shrapnel that he had picked up during the raid. The raids on London were not success- ful towards the last because London was well protected by anti-aircraft guns and by the force of planes that helped defend the city. CLARENCE Ho1.M, l2U. CThe two preceding articles were written by two members of our class who are ex- service men. Donald Klclilroy was with Ambulance Company 127 and Clarence Holm was a member of the Aviation'di- vision of the A. E. F.-Editorsj Eiuniur Hiilliam Henry Simpkins was mad! Not merely out of sorts, but really mad. This was a rare thing for a person with such a calm disposition, for him who had A risen to the lofty position of fmtior in hlelville High School, where one was supposed to have got beyond the stage of such tantrums as now possessed VVilliam Henry. However, all persons have their reverses, and when a Simpkins backslides, he always slides hard. William Henry walked along hlain Street on his way home from school. He was muttering to himself, and his thoughts were, evidently, not very pleasant. VVhy should they be, since if the truth were told, Vfiilliam Henry had been infultedl 'Worse, the insulting party had been a Frffhmanf Think of it! Wiilliam Henry could notl It was preposterous anyhow. The idea of Freshmen, mere Freshmen, wishing to attend a Junior Prom. Still more pre- posterous was the idea of Ringler, a Junior, bringing it before the class. Think of itl A Junior asking his class to accept Freshmen in their social functions. William Henry had put his foot down on it, however, and through his influence the idea had been abandoned. He had shown Ringler a thing or twol A smile crossed his face as he thought of his success in upholding the dignity of his class. Then the smile disappeared once more as he pulled a niece of paper from his pocket. lr was a note which he had found pinned to his locker at the close of the afternoon session. He read, Junior, Junior! Think you're smart! Thou grewest from a Freshman to what thou artl VVith a curse on all living Freshmen, Vfvilliam Henry threw the note into the street. These Freshmen were only kids, anyway. Held -A William Henry gave a gasp. Across the street, just a block ahead of him, he spied Har, Her Whom he had worshipped from afar for many months and who only lately had con- descended to smile at him and speak to him as they passed in the hall. VVilliam Henry had, as yet, no partner for the Prom and he faintly hoped that She