"
Our two nurses were having difficulty keeping up with the troops on
the steep and often narrow trails. Our equipment was becoming too
heavy to carry; little by little, it fell by the wayside: litters, gas
masks, helmets, pup tents, tarps, blankets, mosquito nets, etc. As we
moved up the mountains, we noticed natives using mirrors to signal
planes. We didn't know whether they were trying to blind the pilots or
wave them away. Two more fatiguing hours and we reached the large
Lusod Saw Mill, operated' by the American Jorgensen family.
A soldier came running up the path; he shouted, "Col. Horan has had a
heart attack!" Back down the trail I went for about an hour, when I
found the colonel in agony beside the path. A quarter of morphine, a
swallow of whiskey and an hour's rest revived him enough to continue.
The Jorgensen family were gracious hosts; they had apparently been
stocking up on food for several months, getting ready for this day.
They shared their Christmas dinner with us-our last warm meal.
Because the mountains were so rugged, we decided that tile nurses
should remain with the Jorgensens to share their fate, along with
several American miners' wives, who were joining them-to sit out the
war.
Pages:
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43