I have just reached my new home in France. I was sent from New York to become a Red Cross nurse here for the war. The boat ride over was terrible. I hate boats. Not only was I bothered about being sick, but also I was concerned a submarine would blow up our ship.. The house I�m staying at is rather nice for this part of town. There are four double rooms downstairs and four upstairs. Although there is only one washroom for all of staying here at the house. We also have a common room, which doubles as the kitchen. I think I have the best room in the whole house. On my windowsill there is a little place made for potted flowers, and I have a view of the town. My roommate is very enjoyable, she is always making us laugh and I am very grateful for that. One of the older nurses is quite rude, but as long as I stay out of her way everything is ok. So I make sure to stay out of her way. I had a chance to see our post today. It�s better than the other ones I�ve seen. It used to be school for young priests but ever since the separation of the church, it�s been vacant. Conditions are rather crude but compared to what the other posts look like this is a slice of heaven. We�ve managed to fit about 150 bunks and there is an operating room. It�s a shame that for such a good hospital, we have poorly trained nurses. At the moment we only have 20 soldiers. They�re almost ready to leave the hospital. Apparently we will be getting a load of new soldiers within the next few days because they are transferring from another hospital. So for right now, I have time to go about the town and see what it�s all about. I know once soldiers start coming in I won�t have any time, so I�m taking full advantage of my free time right now.
Love Always,
Lucy Stevens
Dear Diary,
the new soldiers have arrived, I was assigned to the night shift. I haven�t had much free time since. During the night shift its only me and two other nurses are in charge of looking after the men. One of the nurses is the rather rude was I talked about earlier. This isn�t an easy task. So many of the men are very homesick. This is understandable they all look so young. I don�t know what to say to them because I know they have seen some awful things at the front. All the stories they tell me are just such a nightmare. Most nights I am glad that I don�t have to fight on the front. It gets me in the heart to know that some of these men are never going to see their families again. I try to be like family to them so as to make their last days more comforting. I know whatever I try to do will not help that much because of what they�ve been through. The other nurses aren�t much help though. They are very inexperienced so I have to work more than my share. Working the night shift and sleeping during the day does get rather lonesome. I miss my family very much. I lived with my three sisters back home in New York on our farm. My two older sisters are married and my other sister was much too young to be sent over here. I wish I could be back on our farm right now. I�m sure I�ll be back in no time. For right now, I am contempt with letters and pictures from home.
With Much Love,
Lucy Stevens
Dear Diary,
The hospital is very full now with French men. None of them speak English so it�s a very good way for me to perfect my French speaking skills. There�s is one soldier that I love talking to Curtis. He got his leg blow off at the front and is doing extremely well within 3 days he was up and about. He tells me the most incredible stories about the front. It�s kind of nice to have someone to talk to now. My supervisor let me and Curtis go out and spend the day together. We managed to get a loaf of bread to take with us for a picnic. We had to walk slowly because Curtis has to use crutches. We ended up sitting in a field of flowers and talking about our lives back home. He is from Paris, France. I�ve always dreamed of going there one day. It was nice to take a break from the hospital. You still feel the pain of war here even though you are not at the front. A week ago I was talking with a man, a catholic, from Preston, who had been out here for nearly four years, untouched. He was looking forward with certainty to going on leave soon. And now he is dead - killed in a moment during our last advance. Well it was God's will. When we got back to the hospital there were about 50 new men from the front that I had to take care of
Sincerely Yours,
Lucy Stevens
Dear Diary,
I do not want my family to think that I am depressed; indeed on the contrary, I am very cheerful. But out here, in odd moments the realization comes to me of how close death is to us. I don�t understand why so many young men are sent to war. I know I�m not much older than the 18-year-old boys but I still think they shouldn�t have to go to war. These boys haven�t even started their lives. It�s just not fair. War is so inhumane. I don�t understand what all this killing is for. Why can�t the issue be solved in a big meeting instead of a battleground? I just don�t understand the world sometimes. I�ve been getting some more letters from home. My sisters have also been sending me magazines. I share them with all the nurses. We especially enjoy Life It�s because we feel connected to home with the magazines. You know, today a man asked me for an interview for a French newspaper. I would have said yes but being in the Red Cross we are supposed to stay neutral. I hear so many stories from the front that I could probably write a book with them. It�s hard to remain neutral sometimes though because I hear of all the nasty stuff about Germany. I don�t like Germany very much. Oh and Curtis was sent home today. I wish he wasn�t sent home because now I don�t have anyone to really have long chats with.
Lovingly yours,
Susan Whitman
Dear Diary,
I got a letter from Curtis today. It brightened up my whole day to hear from him. He informed me that the war is close to ending. I was promoted today to supervisor. Now I can finally make sure that everything is being done correctly. I also met a very brave man. He swam across a extraordinarily cold river and rotted among the dead for 10 hours. He somehow managed to seize some information from the opposing side. Then he swam across the river again and got the information back to our side. Such bravery this man had. I only hear stories of bravery all the time, but not from the soldier who performed the brave act. He made me realize how important this war is. I wish it weren�t as violent, but that�s the way war it. If only everyone could meet this man.