September 29, 1918 – Full diary entry:

“Have worked hard during the whole battle. Have seen dead + wounded until we don’t mind the awful sights any more.”

This really says it all. As much as I would have liked to know exactly where Robert was during these last four days, I’m confident that he did his part and I believe that he helped to save lives while risking his own.

Chaplain Edwards in From Doniphan to Verdun:

Too much can not be said for these stretcher bearers. To work unarmed under fire, and know that the enemy was giving special attention to the wounded and those helping them, took nerve. Men worked until they were exhausted. There was no limit to their willingness but the fact that they were merely human. One of them, Paul Shool, met me with a man just wounded. He was badly shaken up, H. E., and I tried to reassure him by telling him that we would stay with him. He refused to be comforted. “I know you are here,” he said, “but these Boche shells don’t give a damn for chaplains!” When I proposed to go for stretcher bearers — he was a big, heavy chap — Shool said “No, you shall not go. It is too dangerous. The big ones are falling pretty fast, and I am going.” And he did. He worked steadily until gassed, yet he was only one of the many who were doing their best to accomplish the impossible — for it would have taken ten times as many to handle the situation. These men deserve the highest praise, and to have been a stretcher-bearer in the 140th is a badge of honor.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.