Dorothy M. Harrison describes the efforts of the Louisville Unit of the Women's Overseas Service League to collect oral histories and then talks about the life of Sara Landau, who served in the American Red Cross as an unpaid volunteer during WWI


[00:02] The second member of the Louisville Unit of the Women's Overseas Service League who served in World War I is Sara Landau (her name is spelled L-A-N-D-A-U). Sara is now in her 92nd year and her health, if not her spirits, are failing. Her memory, too, is failing and so because we, very fortunately, took an interview – made an interview with her some years ago, I am going to reconstruct this in a narrative form, very much as it was published in the [Carry-On 00:52] for June of 1983.

Sara La, Landau served as a volunteer with the American Red Cross in France, leaving from New York in September of 1917, and arriving in due course at Paris via Liverpool and Cherbourg. This was unpaid service, as volunteers then received no compensation other than uniforms, quarters, transportation, and food. Sara served in Paris, answering telephones and carrying messages, until August of 1918. During this time, she obtained a job for Suzanne Bacri (that is spelled B-A-C-R-I), a French daughter of a friend of the Louisville [Judah 1:50] family. American Red Cross headquarters thus had operators who could speak both French and English. Sara remembers that Suzanne’s father brought his daughter to work, took her to and from lunch, and escorted her home in the evening, a very proper arrangement for a well-bred young French girl.

Sara’s hotel in Paris was the Prince Albert and the office in which she worked, the postal office, was in the Regina Hotel. It was in Paris that Sara found Arthur Parsons, a Louisville friend reported missing before Sara left New York. She searched for him in American hospitals without success. When she tried a French hospital, there was no Arthur Parsons registered there, either. She turned to leave when, to her astonishment, she saw Arthur walking down the hall. Her call to him ended in a joyous reunion. Arthur, listed on the French hospital records as Samuel A. Parsons, had been wounded in the throat and in French hands all along. As he could not speak French or write it, he was at a disadvantage but had been trying to help during his convalescence by doing hospital chores. Thus, he was in the hall when Sara saw him. A cable to Louisville carried very happy news to an anxious family.

In August of 1918, Sara was assigned to Saint Nazaire, the port from which American servicemen were sent home. She acted as purchasing agent for the American Red Cross and was there until after the Armistice, at which time, she was reassigned to the hospitals in and near Vannes (that is spelled V-A-N-N-E-S). The Vannes hospital, base hospital, was not too distant from Saint Nazaire. She was a recreation director at this installation. She wrote letters for soldiers, collected and circulated a small library, set up a recreation room for ambulatory patients with a pool table, ping pong, chess and checkers, piano, musical instruments, and even a chorus. Sara would go through the wards also to see if soldiers needed someone to write letters for them or bring them books or personal items.

The hospital at Vannes was used at first only for non-coms and privates but, later, officers were brought here as well. They had a special recreation room, which was also shared by the medical staff of the hospital. Like other members of the staff, Sara had a room in one of the wings of this specific Vannes hospital. She believes that it was the 136th.

A vivid memory for Sara during her Vannes hospital days was the visit, in April of 1919, of General Pershing to the hospital. His visit was somewhat delayed and, in effort to make use of this time, Sara began dusting her books so that, all of a sudden, her door was opened and, sooner than expected after all, was General Pershing and her commanding officer. They caught her on her knees dusting books. Her C.O. went red in the face. Sara apologized but Pershing, lifting her by the hand, said he was glad to see her working. Pershing’s manner to her and others was warm and concerned. Although Sara served into August of 1919 at Vannes, when the installation was closed and the remaining members evacuated back to the United States, she most clearly remembers Armistice Day of November11, 1918.

She, a strongly religious, Jewish girl went to Saint Nazaire’s church, a Roman Catholic building, both old and beautiful. There, while American and French were celebrating drunkenly and joyously in the streets, she and one old lady in a black dress, [sebuffs 6:50], and white coif made their celebration of the end of the war a prayer of thanks to God.

Sara’s distinguished career as an educator followed her overseas duty. She continued active in community affairs and recently received the Blanche Ottenheimer award in Louisville for distinguished service to the Jewish community. Fortunately for us, “Mademoiselle Mees,” as the children called her in France (they were trying to say “Miss,” of course) – fortunately for us, Sara has been several times our president and a 28-year member of the present Louisville Unit, as well as a member of the earlier Louisville Unit, disbanded before World War II. Added notes by Sara indicate that Vannes is situated on an inland lake called Morbihan (that’s spelled M-O-R-B-I-H-AN), that is a very old-world town with a beautiful church. Families were, at that time, living in some of the huge towers on the walls once used as part of the fortification. It, uh, was, to her, a most interesting area. She also tells us that she served two adjoining hospitals as a purchasing agent while she was at Saint Nazaire. One of these hospitals, uh, convalescent hospitals, was at Rochefort-en-Terre. It was established in the home, a very large and elegant house, having been given by an American artist, [ex potier 8:46], for the purpose. The other convalescent hospital was at Ploernel (spelled P-L-O-E-R-N-E-L) and was located in part of a, an old convent. Both Rochefort and Ploernel were near Vannes.

This concludes the narrative of the experiences of Sara Landau overseas during World War I.


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