Down underneath as we came to the old monastery at Hachy on January 21st was the feeling that at last we were beginning the long road back, and the snow covered landscape looked familiar and home-like.

Inside warm, roomy comfort greeted us.  To be sure the place was bare but its cleanliness and tiny private cubicles for each of us made us like it right from the start.

The hospital too seemed more convenient and more easy to care for.  We found the wooden floors could be kept much cleaner, the partition of sheets between the wards in the bigger rooms looked nice; and the little round stoves were keeping the place warm, and were convenient for such things as sterilizing dishes and heating water right in the ward.

During the bitter cold weather we put up tents in the outer court to make room for the large number of Trench Foot cases.  They were convenient for admission, care, and early evacuation.

By the first of March our admission had decreased due to the rapidly moving front line, so again we "moved up".  This time to Diekirch.  It was our first set-up where some of the people were definitely pro-German, and it seemed odd to meet people that were sympathetic with our enemies.

The beginning of Spring found us going for hikes along the river, getting snapshots of blasted bridges and blackened, silent "88's".  The early curfew and frequent signs reminded us to be careful, Diekirch was still sprinkled with mines.

In about two weeks, March 16, we began our first move over German soil.  The countryside, the signs of ruin and of prosperity, and the people, made it a never to be forgotten trip.  The towns literally leveled to the ground caused us to remember our first sight of war.  The French ruins of St Lo, Carentan, and all the villages of Normandy.