Rescue operation

“ It is easy to listen to such statements, but it is another thing to stand on that narrow ledge and gaze contemplatively into the tiny sheet, twenty feet below.
Every possible method of saving life is the subject of a special set of drills, and all are constantly practised by all hands alike. They are designed to meet every possible contingency, and when lives are lost by fire it is generally attributable to delay in summoning the brigade.
STILL MORE NERVOUS WORK—JUMPING-SHEET DRILL, A 20-FEET DROP.
One of the most interesting systems of rescue is that in which the chair knot is used. ”

“ This meant giving up valuable time from their farming operations, also putting their own lives at risk when climbing in bad weather. Helicopter rescues lay in the future but at the time such rescue work was unpaid and simply regarded as a duty to help others in times of need. ”

“ Participating in National Construction, Emergency Rescue and Disaster Relief As stipulated by the Constitution and laws, an important task for the armed forces is to take part in national construction, emergency rescue, and disaster relief. ”

“ Each man knows in detail every act he is to perform in the exercise from constant practice, and as prescribed in the Service Manual. At the word of command they drag the apparatus to the drill ground, where they effect a mimic rescue by rigging the gear and taking a man ashore from the wreck pole in the breeches-buoy. If one month after the opening of the active season a crew cannot accomplish the rescue within five minutes, it is considered that they have been remiss in drilling. ”

“ But the men-of-war and other vessels which had got safely into the bay soon sent their boats to the rescue, and all the soldiers and crew, excepting about fifteen wretched men, women, and children who were drowned in their hurry to jump on the rocks, were saved, but the ship and nearly all the baggage and cargo were lost. ”

“ The crews are drilled daily in some portion of rescue work, as practice in manœuvring, upsetting and righting boats, with the breeches-buoy, in the resuscitation of the apparently drowned and in signalling. ”

“ Those who were uninjured quickly came to the rescue, quenching the flames and exerting themselves to relieve the unfortunate victims, who were, in most cases, pinned down under the wreckage of their houses. ”

“ Every building, tree and telegraph pole in the district struck was leveled, and almost all the railroads entering the city were obliged to suspend all passenger and freight traffic.304
RESCUE, RELIEF AND RECONSTRUCTION
The work of rescuing the mangled dead was bravely carried on the following day and before many hours the American genius for organization, order and action had met the demands of the overwhelming disaster. While the dead were still lying awaiting burial, plans were made to rebuild and resume again the work of life. ”

“ We'll work out a regular rescue exercise, won't we, fellows?" said Bruce.
"Right-o!" exclaimed half a dozen lads in unison.
"Fine. Now, I'll explain the way a rescue is made by the California life savers. That reel of wire cable and the cigar-shaped float attached to the rear end of the side car is a very important factor in rescue work. The float has a life belt attached to it, as you can see. When a rescue is to be made the motorcycle comes to a stop at the water's edge and the man on the tandem seat leaps off and seizes the float. ”

“ In every troop or bandon of two or four hundred men, eight or ten stout fellows were deputed to ride immediately behind the fighting-line to pick up and rescue the wounded, for which purpose their saddles had two stirrups on the left side, while they themselves were provided with water-flasks, and perhaps applied temporary bandages. They were encouraged by a reward of a piece of gold for each man they rescued. ”

“ No chance is too small. What do you mean?”
“Well, sometimes rescues have been made,” went on Tom. “They are even more rare than escapes, but they have been done. I was thinking that perhaps after Jack and I get in with Pershing's boys we might be in some big raid on the Hun lines, and then, if we could get any information as to your brother's whereabouts, we might plan to rescue him.” ”

“ The crews consist, however, of volunteers, whose readiness to sacrifice their lives for the rescue of absolute strangers to them is put every year to a severe test; every winter the loss of several of the bravest among them stands on record. And if we ask these men what moves them to risk their lives, even when there is no reasonable chance of success, their answer is something on the following lines. ”

“ Where the current was rushing there was danger to the homesteaders and the launch went to such places first. The boys ran up the current to the buildings, or laid their boat alongside them. When they had a load, they returned to the levee, the only high land near by, landed the refugees, and returned for another load. ”

“ If there is a flare bomb, he can set it off immediately, and rescue will arrive within two days. If there is a dismantled communicator, it will take the man one day to put it together before he can call for help, and rescue will arrive in an additional two days. ”

“ RESCUE WORK IN THE OVERFLOW TO Sibley Carruth and Jimmy Veraine it seemed the most natural thing in the world to swing their big launch about and drive across a submerged field of some kind, skirting around wandering floating islands and running up to the edge of a cabin roof, along the ridge of which were a man, a woman, and two small boys. ”

“ This means that in the early morning, when the night’s cruelties were past, the wounded soldiers were carried from the field of battle or from the trenches to some place of safety in the rear. Here nurses and doctors could give them first aid. And this required tremendous personal bravery. The stricken soldiers must be borne in the arms of their companions to the nearest Red Cross, or else lifted into the ambulances or smaller motor cars. These traveled with all possible speed across the tragic fields of the dead, as soon as a lull in the firing made attempt at rescue possible. ”

“ Then the men at the other end of the line dispatch the [Pg 235] breeches-buoy and gallantly effect the rescue of their comrade. On Friday the recovery drill is carefully gone through. One of the crew assumes the role of a half-drowned sailor, and his comrades resuscitate him by rolling him on the sand and producing artificial breathing, according to the rules laid down for the purpose. Saturday is general cleaning day. The discipline of the crew is never relaxed and none of its members can go out of sight of the station save by special permission or when off duty. ”

“ After the attacks of September
11th, thousands of Guardsmen across the country voluntarily stepped
forward to help. When hurricanes strike our shores, it is the Guard
that provides necessary communications and rescue services. ”

“ And you begin to take things in with one of the Section's sous-chefs leaning over your cot with the news that the first man on the list has a load of wounded and has met with an accident. The others are waked up too. Some are left to take care of such other wounded as may arrive and the rest form a rescue party. Two ride in the rescue ambulance; two more probably walk. The wounded are moved from the broken-down car to the other ambulance, and then daylight finds three or four of us rain-drenched and mud-smeared, changing a brake-band or digging into a carburetor. ”

“ Military Police are on point duty and you will see a stream of Red Cross motor ambulances, a trickle of base details, a string of invalided horses in charge of an A.V.C. corporal, and a khaki-painted motor-bus crowded with drafts for the Front. Big ocean liners, flying the Red Cross, lie at their moorings, and lofty electric cranes gyrate noiselessly over supply ships unloading their stores, while animated swarms of dockers in khaki pile up a great ant-heap of sacks in the sheds with a passionless concentration that seems like the workings of blind instinct. ”

“ All the doctors and medical men in the front line, and all the stretcher-bearers who endured their share of gas, shells, and machine-gun blasts, of rains and mud, with heavy casualties; all the drivers of the ambulances along shell-infested roads; all the hospital corps men, on their feet twenty-four hours at a stretch at the triages; all the teams of surgeons and their helpers, whose skill and tireless endurance saved lives—these were of the army.
There is no heroism finer than that of the stretcher-bearer ”

“ To that department under which boats are to go out, and men are to risk their lives, for the rescue of those who may be in danger, the utmost attention is due: that, when they are so employed, it shall be under the direction of the most skilful advice which the occasion can afford; that their boats and equipments shall be such as best to insure their safety; and that the crews shall be selected from the bravest and most experienced persons who can be found. ”

“ The growing efficiency of the rescue services worked wonders—which were part of the future, as you'd expect, not successful attempts to change it—although there were always a small number of deaths, mainly the kind of people who never used to pay any attention to the news, didn't look at road signs, and the like. ”

“ There the Société Internationale des Secours aux Blessés established a field ambulance; many wounded received first aid, and thence were dispatched to “fixed” establishments within the city. To reinforce the troops engaged, whose losses were already very great, large bodies of men from those in reserve marched laboriously towards the front. The ground was soaked by rain, their progress slow and difficult, themselves weary, fatigued, and physically weak. ”

“ The two boys accompanied the wounded man back to the First Aid Station, an underground, roughly boarded chamber where desperate looking men worked silently at their task of keeping life in the tattered forms brought in to them. ”

“ MOVEMENT TO THE EXTRACTION SITE The principles of route selection, movement formations, and movement security are observed during movement to the extraction site.
a. Priorities. The time that a team remains in enemy territory depends on its mission, composition, and equipment. The exfiltration is critical from a standpoint of morale and mission accomplishment. Plans for extraction by air, ground, or water are made before the operation, with alternate plans for contingencies such as the evacuation of sick or injured personnel. ”

“ Either the surgeons at the dressing stations or Major Little and his assistants at the cross-roads hospitals will tell you where to take the wounded. Critical cases are first operated on at the evacuation hospitals so as to save time, but shell shock, slight wounds, men not very seriously gassed, and merely sick men are brought here direct [62] from the field. Hence it will be best for you, if there are no wounded to be brought away from the evacuation hospitals, to go to the dressing stations or into a battle area, to get the wounded in your car anyway you can. ”

“ As we passed the sentinels at the gates of the yards we were forced to halt in a jam of ammunition and food wagons. To the army that survives is given the first thought. The wounded in the ambulance could wait. We took right of way only over civilians—including refugees. ”

“ The poor creatures gazed fearfully down into that awful ditch of three and thirty feet depth, and shuddered as they clung to their would-be rescuers, but these were busy making ropes of their clothing and belts, and now as shot began to fall around them there was no more hesitation, and men and women made the dangerous descent. ”

“ Stricken down upon the battle field in the full bloom of manly vigor, lying festering in their ghastly wounds among the dead and dying, exposed to the dews of night, the broiling fervors of the midday sun, we may hear them implore us that the ambulances of the Sanitary may be allowed to aid in bringing them shelter, aid, strength to live, or patience to die. ”

“ It will be gathered that the most important work of the corps is to prevent damage to goods, and that water is mostly looked after. The damage from fire is left almost entirely to the fire brigade. The traps, which immediately on receipt of an alarm proceed to the scene of the fire with their crew of men, carry every kind of appliance for the saving of goods from destruction by fire or damage by water, as well as lime-light apparatus for use in working after the fire has been extinguished, thus enabling the men to note the position of dangerous walls, &c. ”

“ The first aid station at the farm was a busy place. The ambulances would scurry up the road into the courtyard, unload, and hurry back again. Others would arrive empty and load up with men for the evacuation hospitals. ”

“ In the beginning of the War the wounded stayed a long, a very long time without being rescued, at the place where they fell, or in the shelter to which they had been able to crawl. Our stretcher-bearers of the American Ambulance found, after the battle of the Marne, many who had lain for days and nights in shell holes, at the foot of trees, in ruined barns or churches! One may guess what the mortality might be! Today, happily, it is no longer so. The field of action is more restricted and the aid is better organized.
Transportation is painful and dangerous. ”

“ Officers and men are engaged in hazardous occupations at all times — in peace as in war, and night and day. They have to handle boats in bad weather, work around the machinery, engine, and firerooms, drill with guns and turrets, handle ammunition, operate aircraft and submarines, and perform a thousand-and-one things which go to make up daily life at sea. At any moment you may get a man brought in for surgical treatment whose arm has been mangled in a baking machine, a case of fracture caused by a fall from a mast or down a hatch, or one with foreign bodies in the eye. ”