“While I was in the Philippine Islands, twelve years ago, I was deeply impressed with the different attitudes of the officers and enlisted men when on the firing line. It was plain, even to the casual observer, that the men who were thoroughly devout Christians—and there are many thousands of Christians in our army—were not afraid to face the bullets, but the men who were agnostics and unbelievers, whatever that may mean, were so nervous and excited that they hardly knew what they were doing, or they were downright cowards.
“In my own case I was not afraid of death, as I had given very little thought to such a possibility; besides I had become more or less indifferent to life and possible death. One hot summer day, while fighting the Filipinos, I was shot through the head. An army surgeon bandaged me up as best he could and then assured me I was very likely not to live through the day.
“If I ever got scared, it was then, and if ever I prayed, it was then, in spite of the excruciating pains I suffered. The words of a comrade, who was a fine soldier, though not a thorough Christian, uttered by him shortly before I was wounded, were constantly ringing in my ears, namely, 'A man may possibly live without Christ, but he cannot die without Christ.'
“For a month or so the doctors and nurses did not think I would live, but God spared my life, and no doubt for a purpose. For six months I was unable to utter a word, as the bullet had passed through my tongue. It was well for me I could not talk to any human being, but I could talk to God. During those months I lived my entire life over again. I promised God to become a better man. True, I became more earnest in my views of life, I realized the value of the golden rule, but I was not converted. I could not yet understand the meaning of the word.
“The Red Cross nurses, who at the beginning of the trouble in the Philippines were in charge of the hospital, were not only experts in their profession, but were splendid types of self-sacrificing Christians, and their presence alone made the patients think of their mothers or sisters or other dear ones at home, thousands of miles away, and thus unconsciously these nurses, noble representatives of womanhood, frequently wrought a change for the better in the hearts of the wounded soldiers.