•      It was a brisk morning in France, November 1918.  Frederick Wendell Beck, age 19, suddenly awoke next to a dead horse as gunfire flew over him so close he could feel it graze his unprotected head.  He panicked as he scuffled for his helmet.  He gasped for breath when he found it near the dead horse’s mouth drenched in foam.  He could not breathe well then realized he was still wearing the gas mask from the night before when he and his unit were attacked by mustard gas.  Realizing the gas attack was over, he ripped it off and donned his helmet when he heard gunfire, then he took off running.  He heard voices of a few men left in his unit that he could recognize and headed in that direction.  Frederick Wendell Beck was a Medic in the United States Army and knew he had to find the wounded and do what he could to get them to safety. 

      He wore a red cross on his arm to keep from being shot at, however during war it didn’t seem to make a difference, he too was seen as an enemy soldier.  Medic Beck heard screams from several yards away, but the early morning mist made it difficult to see exactly who it was.  He kept running towards the voice.  Bullets breezed by his body as he dove towards the security of a tree.  He heard German voices along with the Americans from his unit.  Fear engulfed Beck as he realized they must be surrounded by Germans.  He had no idea how many of the men in his unit were left.  A loud burst pounded in the air then gunfire began to dwindle.  Out of the mist a bloody and dirty Sergeant Thomas Roy came running.  He fell at Medic Beck’s feet. 

      “They are all dead.” He exclaimed to Beck.  “The Captain and the rest of the unit, all blown to pieces by the Germans and I am the only one left.”  

      Beck yelled, “Where are you hurt Roy?”  Medic Beck made a quick assessment of Sergeant Roy and discovered he was hit in the left chest.  Beck grabbed him and dragged him as far away from the front line as he could.  As soon as they were safe, Sergeant Roy explained what had happened.  They were surrounded by Germans and it had happened so fast and so early in the morning that it was a surprise attack.  Most of their unit had been killed right on the spot.  Sergeant Roy’s voice began to garble.  Medic Beck was frantically attempting to stop the bleeding from the supplies in his belt bag.