sed a thrill in the heart of
every doughboy in the ranks that heard the story?

From Paris, July 22, 1918, the Associated Press sent the following
despatch:

"Your country is proud of you, and I am more than
proud to command such men as you. You have fought
splendidly."

General Pershing thus addressed wounded American soldiers lying in the
American Red Cross hospitals in Paris to-day. In each ward of every
hospital he talked to the men. He inquired if they were being well cared
for, how and where they were wounded, what regiments they belonged to,
and expressed his sympathy to scores of patients.

General Pershing also talked to the physicians, surgeons, and nurses,
and thanked them for the work they were doing in caring for the wounded.

"No one can ask of any fighting force more than that they should do as
well as you have done," he said to his troops. The General added that he
wished he could speak personally with each and every man in the
hospital, but this was impossible. So he asked Major James H. Perkins to
repeat his message and say to each individual man, "The American people
are proud of you."

It is a very devoted and democratic army which General Pershing commands
in France. Those who know him personally have a deep affection for him
for they understand what he is. Those who do not have a personal
acquaintance admire him no less for what they believe him to be. It is a
common remark in the ranks, even by those who never even saw their
leader, "What a fine man Pershing is." His nickname "Black Jack" is an
expression of admiration and affection, as much so as when the French
poilus tenderly refer to "Papa" Joffre.

Whenever General Pershing in his scattered duties arrives at a place
where there are wounded American soldiers he never fails to find a few
brief minutes when he can visit these boys and speak a word of
affectionate appreciation of what they have done. It is usually,
however, not to his own but to his country's pride and sympathy that he
refers. "Your country is proud of you." Sometimes it is just a
handclasp, sometimes only a glance from his dark eyes, expressive of the
deep interest and pride in his soldier boys that he can give the
wounded. He is a man of few words and as a consequence every spoken word
counts.

A direct report states that "faces are brighter, eyes have a new
expression whenever, which is as often as the crush of his duties
permits--he vi