Back in Chicago, Jeanette was settled in her lovely new flat. She invited a younger sister, Gertrude, to live with her. Gertrude was unmarried and happy to be out of the crowded house of her parents. The two sisters spent their time sewing on Jeanette's new Singer sewing machine, going to silent films, and going to church. Jeanette made friends with the wife of her landlord who lived downstairs, Gerta Hopf.
Gerta Hopf was a sweet, kindly woman. She taught the two young women to cook and shop for food, and enjoyed their company. Jeanette did not know it at the time, but she had made a friend for life!
Back in Scotland, uncle Edward did not like the idea of Campbell going into the army. James was still pursuing the life of a farmer. Dear Helen had finished her training and was a nurse in the Crimean conflict. Nan was still in London with her two children, her estranged husband with the Black Watch in France. Uncle Edward was so fond of Campbell and worried about him! They all wrote frequent letters to him. Campbell always loved Helen's letters. He used to say that her handwriting looked like a little bird had stepped in a puddle of ink and walked across the page! Her letters were always full of love and encouragement.
Campbell's arrival in France introduced him to war almost immediately. He was driven to a quartermaster Corps station, issued a helmet and a pistol, a truck and a Driver. His job was to deliver food and supplies to the men in the trenches. They were to drive through rural France on roads pockmarked with dangerous holes made by the shells. Also, the constant threat of German snipers and/or attack. Campbell had been chosen because he could speak French having learned it in school. So, he was able to communicate with the French farmers in the area. As he neared the trenches, the death and destruction was everywhere. But, it was the life in the trenches that he found most appalling - warfare at it's most cruel.
Men stood for days in a foot of water when it rained. And, as they died, were stacked up in piles where their still standing comrades would attempt to keep the rats off of them. Shelling was constant. Men slept standing up. When the supply truck arrived, they were given hard tack, dried meat, some clean water to drink, and emergency medical supplies. They begged for cigarettes.
Campbell had never seen such misery. But he returned again and again to the supply center, each time bringing wounded or corpses back with him. And all the while the shells kept coming. Every once in awhile a soldier would go "over the top" firing at everything he saw. There were times when he and his driver barely made it back because of snipers.
But then there was just one fateful time!
The shelling was getting heavier and dangerously close. The driver ducked under the truck. Campbell jumped into a nearby trench, landing at the bottom and covering his head. That is all he remembered. The truck was demolished, the driver killed, and Campbell knocked unconscious by the concussion of the massive shell that had exploded overhead. Amazingly,he had no serious outer injuries, and awoke on a litter being carried by two corpsmen.
He tried to see them, but could not focus his eyes, and so began the toughest battle of his life!
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