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102 Chapter Thirteen A CAMP IN OREGON I think, people disagreed with what I did and the way I felt at the start. And I think there were some caustic remarks printed and some comments made by people. I have no doubt that these didn’t affect me. For the most part I had already gone to a conscientious objector’s camp which was a legal position. you ought to understand that. Being a conscientious objector is nothing illegal . If you substantiate it, you have to. It’s a legal status. But you have to substantiate it. the only thing that was wrong was that I had agreed . . . there were two kinds of categories. one is to work with the military; I would only work in one area that was the medic. But you weren’t allowed at that time to make that decision. And I said, “I can’t simply go in and do non-combat work and justify myself for not being on the front line. I’m not going to go in and make uniforms or stamp out the buttons which go on the uniforms or anything else. so if I cannot choose to do a generalized kind of work for the good of my fellow man, such as being a medic, no matter who he is, then I will have to say I won’t work at all.” so I first went to a conscientious objectors’ camp, which was those who do not work with the military. It was very interesting. It was a forestry camp in oregon. I was only there a month and I was finally head of all the first aid. It was an interesting place where we had . . . I think over 12 master’s degrees and 5 doctorates in this various group and everybody taught something that he knew.1 As the story continued to grow in public interest, Lew quietly registered at the camp in Oregon, operated by the Brethren and Mennonite churches. Much like soldiers in training camps, Lew was permitted to bring one trunk and one suitcase, and would share living quarters with forty men. 2 The daily schedule would require Lew to wake at 6 a.m. for a vegetarian meal and organized or individual prayers. At 7:30, all campers joined their work gang, where Lew served on the emergency first aid staff. From 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. they worked, clearing brush and cutting down trees. They were required to be asleep by 10 p.m. Every week the camp members were granted three recreational periods after work hours. Conscientious objectors were required by law to pay for A CAmp In oregon 103 their own room and board, a fee Lew could easily afford, although the majority in the camp came from poorer homes and their fees were paid by churches.3 At the camp, Lew quickly proved his value as a medic and first aid instructor. He was sent with work crews, providing any emergency care needed. He did so well, after just fifteen days, he was moved into the administration building and put in charge of the first aid department for the camp. From April 15 until the day he left, Lew ran the First Aid in Camp. Lew also received exceptional ranking, earning the highest possible scores on his camp review. As a show of solidarity, he even bypassed his orientation day to go out with the rest of the men.4 Lew liked his work and became a popular camper, especially when he saved a man “by applying digital pressure to stop arterial bleeding until a tourniquet could be applied to the leg of a man who had accidentally severed his Achilles tendon while hewing away at a log with an adze axe.”5 Reporter Paul Comly French, who served as executive secretary for the National Service Board for Religious Objection throughout the war, was concerned that either the camp or conscientious objector supporters might use Lew as a spokesperson for COs and issued an unofficial letter, stating: “This is just a little personal note with my suggestion that a lot of care be used in not permitting Lew Ayres to be exploited, in fairness to him.”6 Although French’s correspondence began a long and fruitful friendship between the two public figures,7 French’s advisory was in vain, as Lew was an obvious source of fascination among campers, one of whom was quoted by a number...

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