When base hospital units were being organized to accompany the American Expeditionary Forces, I joined Unit No. 17 (Harper Hospital, Detroit) with the hope of being of service to the Army in a general way and, perhaps, having occasional demands made on my special knowledge of enteroproctology.
When our unit arrived in France early in July, 1917, we were stationed in the city of Dijon, the capital of ancient Burgundy. This city was located on the main railroad line over which the bulk of the American troops had to pass from the base ports to the training centers and fighting front. Many thousands of troops were encamped and billeted in the villages surrounding Dijon, and it was a very important center of the American activities.
A great deal of construction work was carried on; immense warehouses and depots for quartermaster, ordnance and the supplies of other departments were being erected