Honor to Whom Honor Is Due
While we feel that every Soldier, Sailor and Civilian, of Accomac County, is deserving of praise for the part they took and the efforts they put forth to aid their country in its time of need, yet there are always some special deeds or examples of sacrifice that stand out in bold relief against the horizon of every community's efforts along any particular line. For this reason we feel that the records of Rev. Frank A. Ridout and Miss Sarah Waples Crosley are deserving of special mention in our "History of Accomac County in the War."
FRANK A. RIDOUT.
Before coming to Onancock as rector of Holy Trinity Church, Frank A. Ridout offered his services to the War Department as a Chaplain, but being over forty years of age, he was declared ineligible.
The spirit of patriotism continued to whisper to him until, in April 1918, the vestries of Holy Trinity Church, Onancock, and historic St. Georges, Pungoteague, granted him a leave of absence of seven months to do Y. M. C. A. work in France.
It would be hard to find a man with a personality better suited to the work and the congregations were glad to be able to send such a man as their personal representative. Mr. Ridout had charge of the Y. M. C. A. activities for the Seventh Division. He was badly wounded on the head by a falling beam and was also shell-shocked.
Since returning to the county he has been far from strong, but feeling that his health was sacrificed in a good cause, he never complains.
MISS SARAH WAPLES CROSLEY.
As soon as Belgium was invaded by Germans, Miss Sarah Waples Crosley, of Savageville, Accomac County, offered her services to the American Red Cross and sailed with the first contingent that left this country in September 1914. After working in a hospital in France, for several months, she was sent to Belgium, where she remained until the last Red Cross unit was withdraw. Her next post was at Un Crout.
When America entered the war, she was placed in charge of a large Red Cross Hospital in Paris, remaining there until the armistice was signed.
Miss Crosley expected to return to America but answered the call of the Near East, stating that duty lies where suffering humanity calls. En route she worked in Italy for a few months. On her way from Italy to Montenegro, she was robbed of all her possessions, including all papers, and was under surveillance until duplicates could be procured from Washington. She describes her experiences, on that journey, as trying and dangerous beyond belief.
Since going to the Near East, Miss Crosley has worked in Montenegro, Albania, Turkey, Serbia and Armenia. She was ordered to Siberia but our troops were withdrawn before she could make the journey.
Miss Crosley was decorated with the Croix-de-Guerre, by France, and the Cross of Mercy, by Serbia. Accomac is proud of her work not only in the field of honor but also in the field of mercy.
F[rances]. L[ankford]. T[aylor].