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Show Influenza Takes Toll Among Utah Soldiers ' in France; 13 Succumb: Regiment Passe? Through Trying Days; Disease Finally Stamped Out; Sanitary Corps and Doctors Work Unceasingly. By FLOYD A. TIMMERMAN, Staff Correspondent for Salt Lake Tribune in Trance. WITH TUB UTAH ARTILLERY, Training: ditnp. Southern France. Oct. 21. The Utah regiment has ju.st emerged from the most trying try-ing and saddest period in its entire career, since the young manhood of tiie state rallied to its banners, nearly near-ly eighteen months ago. It was caught in the path of tho f-fl Spanish influenza "X X epidemic which a i month ago swept Yymr southern France. It I m-:. .y- p emerges today, prac-4 prac-4 P tically free from all trace of the disease, f ' f fa thanks to our effi-1 effi-1 ' - f dent medical corps, j ? which worlted day "r'KHi: ' antl niSht unceas- ,JaSiy'J lnKly and finally s stamped the last case from the camp limits and raised the quarantine which has confined the artillerymen to .local areas for many days. In spite of all that modern medical assistance as-sistance and care could provide, tho disease dis-ease took Its toll of life. Thirteen Utah men went down under its onslaught when the disease was at its height, although al-though the medical officers made heroic efforts to save their lives. The danger point has now been passed and the Utah 1 men are free again to circulate through the huge training camp and visit the near-by towns. They arc now free to go to the quiet little graveyard just outside out-side the cantonment limits where their thirteen comrades lie at rest, and pay tribute to their memories. Utahns Who Fell Victims to Scourge. The men who paid the toll when the epidemic swept down upon the camp were: A ndrew M on son of headquarters company, Herbert Z. Gump of K battery, bat-tery, Norman J. Haeckel of 13 battery, bat-tery, Carl P. Leishman of C battery: Roland Ro-land V. Twelves of F battery, Louis D. Chaney of K battery, Robert E. Durrant of D battery, George Fritz of O battery, William R. Steglich of F battery, Stanford Stan-ford Hinckley of A battery. Elmer S. Bishop of C battery and John Gabrille of E battery. ! This completes the toll list during the I epidemic, although the regiment lost one man upon entering France. He was Jack Atwater of B battery, who was dc- ' taehed from the command on account of , ! sickness and died later in a hospital on 1 the coast of France. Although the cantonment where the Utah artillerymen are in training is in "true sanitary condition and 'every possible pos-sible precaution is taken by the medical officers to safeguard the lives of the men, the epidemic swept down like a whirlwind, as it did practically throughout through-out the southern country. At the first ! symptoms the medical department took every precaution to prevent its spread. Heroic Conduct of ; the Sanitary Corps, At the first sign of approaching sickness sick-ness the men were installed in beds in , an empty barrack building near by which was hastily turned into a receiving hospital. hos-pital. At tho slightest indication of the approach of the influenza, the patient was removed at once in an ambulance to the big camp base hospital, where every ! attention 'was given. It was in the emergency building that Major Witiard Christopherson, commanding command-ing the sanitary corps, and bis assistants played a truly heroic part in the prevention preven-tion of spread of the siekm-ss and saved scores of Jives through their hours "f la bo i- wit hout sleep ur rest and scarcely leaving the building for t heir meals. Every member of the sanitary detachment detach-ment was railed upon to extend himself to the limit of his physical and mental powers and did. The sanitary corps turned tho tide The work of Chaplain Brigharn TT. Roberts Rob-erts cannot be forgotten. Through day and night he mail" continuous journeys to the hospitals, aiding the sick in every pov,Mble manner and comforting them in the long hours of illness. It can be safely said that when a man is sick- he misses his home more than any other time in his life and a soldier fighting for his country probably loves his home more than any other man in the world. Chaplain Roberts not only visited them and made their hours cheerier, but he put himself at their disposal as an errand er-rand boy. lie was never happier than when doing some crra nd that would please his'men, who were unable to help themselves. From writing letters home for them, to going- miles to the nearest city at their slightest request, were included in-cluded among his duties. The my si ery of the whole affair is where and when lie found time to eat and sleep. Personally, Per-sonally, I think he did neither for days. Chaplain Roberts Conducts Last Rites. It was also Chaplain Roberts who said the last words at the bedsides of those who were taken . away, and later conducted con-ducted the services as the bodies were lowered in the quiet little graveyard outside out-side the camp limits. He also saw that the tiny wooden cross at the head was marked with the proper identification. 'haplain Roberts paid the following tribute to the soldiers who were taken away: "These men who have died have made just as complete sacrifice of their lives to the cause for which their country stands in this world s war, and hence to their country, as any who have fallen or shall fall in the front line of battle. They faed conditions to them as deadly as charging through bursting shells or the1 patter of machine gun or rifle bullets: bul-lets: the miasma of the dread disease they breathed proved for them as deadly as the poisonous German gas waves or shells, and their restless suffering from fever-tortured bodies and congested lungs was as pitiful as any death from wunds or bayonet thrusts- or shrapnel rents. "The heroism in the soldier consists in the fact that he offers his life to his country, with full intent to meet whatever what-ever fate may befall him. It is not his prerogative to choose his place in the battle line, or say when, or how, ur where he shall serve, nor when or in in what manner ho will fall, if fall he must. Tribute Paid to Utah's Gallant Dead. "He does his part when, in response to his country's call for service, he says, 'Here I am send me' ; or when, with equal cheerfulness, he responds to the laws of his country providing for that country's service in her defense or in her necessary aggression to maintain her rights and establish justice. Here he has some control of his actions, and especially of the spirit in which he answers an-swers the call to duty. If that answer rings true to patriotism, there his personal per-sonal responsibility ends; others after that determine the time and place and kind of his service, and quite other powers pow-ers determine the time, place and measure mea-sure of his sacrifice. "Those who died of disease in our stricken camp were among those who cheerfully placed their all upon their country's altar in sacrifice, and that sacrifice in full measure was taken by powers they could not control; and, in the sum of things in this world upheaval of war, their sacrifice and their heroism will count for just as much as the sacrifice sac-rifice and heroism of those who may fall in immediate action against the enemy." |