Page 55 of All We Thought We Knew
Gunther suddenly remembered she said she worked for a colonel. Did she have something to do with this meeting?
Colonel Foster rose from where he was seated at his desk when they entered and offered his hand. “Mr. Schneider, thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
Gunther nodded, unsure how to respond. As far as he knew, he hadn’t been given a choice.
The man motioned Gunther to one of two chairs in front of the desk. Behind him, the door clicked closed, and he assumed Mrs. Delaney exited the room. However, a moment later, she quietly took a seat in the chair next to him, a notepad and pencil in hand, and her attention focused on the colonel.
“I’ve heard various accounts of what happened in the mess hall last week,” he began, casting a quick look at Mrs. Delaney, then back to Gunther. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but the man whose life you saved is doing well. He apparently has a heart anomaly, which he was unaware of until he collapsed. He’s been medically discharged from the Army and was sent home to his family, thanks in part to you.”
The man’s praise and cordial tone wasn’t at all what Gunther had anticipated. “I’m... glad to hear it, sir.”
The colonel studied Gunther before saying, “I understand you were a medical student before the war started. What school did you attend?”
Wariness crept over Gunther. He’d answered these same questions over and over after his arrest. “Columbia, sir.”
Colonel Foster’s brow rose. “Impressive. I understand they have an excellent program.”
Gunther remained silent.
“Please describe what happened with the soldier in the mess hall, and why you chose to administer a medical procedure only a qualified doctor should employ. Considering your position here at Camp Forrest, it doesn’t seem as though it was the wisest thing to attempt.”
Gunther contemplated how to respond. While there was no reason he shouldn’t be truthful, honesty had not served him well with US government officials lately.
He glanced at Mrs. Delaney, but she stared at the pad of paperin her lap, pencil poised to begin writing. There were already notes on the page. Was she recording everything he said?
He faced the colonel again. “Mrs. Delaney asked me to meet with her so she could complete a...” He struggled to remember the word she’d used.
“Personnel file,” she quietly supplied.
Gunther nodded his thanks when she looked up. “Yes, a personnel file. We were finished with our conversation when someone called out that a man was not breathing. The guard told us he would get help, but I felt it took too long.”
“So, you decided to intervene, despite the fact that you’re not a doctor?”
Gunther met the man’s gaze. “I decided I did not want to watch a man die, especially if there was something I could do to prevent it.”
“Even though he was an American soldier, training to fight Germans?”
“My professor at Columbia, Dr. Sonnenberg, teaches there should be no prejudices in medicine.”
Colonel Foster gave a slow nod. “Well said.” He leaned back in his chair. “Tell me about your training.”
Gunther gave the basics of his admission into Columbia and the subjects he’d studied. He also shared how Dr. Sonnenberg, a fellow German, took him under his wing. “I had hoped to begin an internship with him this semester.” There was no need to explain why it hadn’t happened.
“And the method you used on the unconscious man.” Colonel Foster said. “Had you performed it before?”
Gunther gripped the armrest. Should he answer honestly? If he did, he could soon find himself on a ship bound for Germany.
“I had not, sir. I only watched as Dr. Sonnenberg used it to revive a patient.” He paused. He’d probably already sealed his fate, so he finished by saying, “Dr. Friedrich Maass, aGermansurgeonin the 1890s, advocated using chest compressions rather than ventilation alone. I believe his technique has been used around the world to revive thousands of patients.”
A bemused expression crossed the colonel’s face. “Perhaps you are correct.” He leaned his elbows on the desktop and tented his fingers. “In the meantime, however, I need to decide what to do with you. Mrs. Delaney,” he smiled at her when she looked up from her notepad, “believes you should be given another chance to work in the hospital.”
Gunther turned to see her face grow a becoming shade of pink.
“After speaking with you, I’m inclined to agree.”
Gunther couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re not sending me back to Germany?”
The colonel frowned. “Is it your wish to return to your homeland?”
