She spoke a few words to me and then passed on. It was the first time
I had spoken to an American girl since leaving the United States. A
few minutes later one of the boys told me she was from the West and
then one said he thought she was from California. I could not wait
until she came to bring our supplies, but immediately started out to
look her up, so anxious was I to see and talk with a Californian. I
found her and told her I was from California and that I had heard that
she was from that State, too. To my great pleasure and surprise, I
learned that she was from Sacramento, my home town, and that she was
acquainted with my folks and knew of me. Her name is Miss Mae Forbes,
and after her patriotic work in France, she is home again in
Sacramento. One must experience the delight of meeting a charming
young woman from his own town, in far-off France, and under the
circumstances that I did, to appreciate my feelings at this time. It
is an experience that I will always remember as one of the most happy
of my life. It was only a few days later that I made my way, without
the aid of crutches this time, to the American Red Cross station where
I again met Miss Forbes and had a long and pleasant chat with her
about California. Miss Forbes introduced me to the other members of
the station, and from that time until I left Tours, it was like my
home. I spent many a pleasant hour there and its memories will always
be dear to me.

I was in the hospital at Tours on November 11th, when the armistice
was signed. There was a great commotion in my ward when we first
learned the news. Most of the boys were glad that the war was over and
that the lives of so many boys still at the front had been spared.
Others said they hoped the end had not come so suddenly, as they were
anxious to recover and get back into the front line to take another
crack at the despicable Huns.

At this time I was gaining strength rapidly and was able to get around
fairly well. I was given a pass out of the hospital, and with two
other boys who were fairly strong, we went into the business district
of Tours to witness the celebration. It was like a great city gone
mad. The streets were crowded with civilians, and everybody was waving
flags. Most people had a French flag in one hand, and the flag of one
of the Allied nations in the other. The American flag predominated
above all other Allied flags; in fact, the people of Tours seemed to
be very partial to Americ