USA > Illinois > Lee County > War history of Lee County, Illinois, 1917-1919 : a history of the part taken by the people of Lee County, Illinois, in the World War, 1917-1919 > Part 20
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Well we were figuring on a big feed that night, and went around when it was time to eat, and come to find out, she didn't understand that we wanted it cooked. Se we were out of luck for supper that night. We had bread and milk, and then we had it fixed up the next night, and what a feed we did have. Those women are sure good cooks. We are expecting to move in a few days, and the rumors are that we expect to be home soon. We turned in our knives, pliers, and pistols today, so I guess it is Home.
With love, Roy G. Long.
C'o. C, 101st Field Battalion, Signal Corps. American E. F., France.
From Priv. Ira. O. Wells, Co. A, 132nd Inf.
Somewhere in front lines. Oct. 4th 1918.
Dear Mother and All:
Well had you begun to think I had got bumped off by one of Jerrys shells.
It has been quite a while since I wrote, but this is the first opportunity since I sent you the letter and cards around Sept. 20th. We left a small village here on Sept. 6th and were hauled in trucks to our destination.
We went in the front lines on the night of the eighth and we are still on the front line and no sign of relief yet.
We have sure had a very rough spin this time. I presume you read of the big American smash on the twenty mile front. Well our regiment was in it and of course Co. A as usual was in the first wave. We hopped the morning of the 26th a little after five with a very fine barrage of high explosives shells, smoke and liquid fire. Can you imagine a wall of steel twenty miles in length and going over our heads. The machine gun company sure gave us a splendid barrage. Our first half a mile was through a very marshy piece of ground. The 108 engineers worked for about two hours ahead of us laying duck boards and they also built several small bridges for us boys to go over a small creek which was waist deep with mud and water.
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They stood in that mud and water holding the bridges up with their shoulders so us boys could get across.
Great piece of work for the Engineers I guess. The Engineers sure deserve all the praise they get in taking part in this great war. I slipped off the duck boards a few times before I landed on solid ground as well as the rest of the boys and you ought to have seen us. I had my rifle slung across my back with my grenade, in each band and it didn't make much difference if I did fall in a shell hole as long as my rifle was in a safe place. We finally got across and lined up again and was off. It was hard fighting for us boys all the way. From what we could find out from the prisoners he pulled his infantry out and retreated and just left all his machine guns behind to try and stop up. Well Jerry is pretty foxy with a machine gun and he will fight with it until you are within throwing distance of them and they come out of their pill boxes and boller mercy camerad. Well we gave them merey alright. Afritz that comes out and gives himself up like a man we never bother, but woe unto the machine gun men who fight to the finish.
Some of the prisoners told us that if they came out and gave themselves up we would shoot them anyhow and that is why Jerry's rear guard puts up such a fight. Most of our fighting was in a very heavy wood. There was a very heavy fog hanging around us all morning and for once the good Lord was with us boys. Jerry couldn't see us until we were right on top of him and then he would fire a belt at us, grab his machine gun go a little to the rear and then start sweeping the ground ahead of himself again.
We went just to the right of dead mans hill also hill 104 and hill 106. I can see now why those places changed hands so many times. They are just covered with shell holes. Jerry was sweeping the hills with his machine guns but after us boys get started to going under the barrage there seems to be nothing to stop us. We gained our objective a little after eleven o'clock. We pushed him for over six hours. We pushed him between five and six kilo and captured two towns.
I would like to tell you the name of the towns and then you could see by the map just where our Company went. Jerry had snipers working in the tree tops and they gave us boys a little trouble. I am sending you a souvenir I got off a Jerry that I coaxed out of a tree with my rifle. He shot a hole through my canteen and let all my reserve water out, also grazed my helmet once. Well I dropped on the ground behind some bushes and finally located him. I yelled for the rest of the boys to drop before he would get some of them. Well one shot from the old trusty Springfield and down he came and we were on top of him in an instant. Well the rest of the boys let me souvenir him for he was my man. He had a lot of money on his body and I am sending you one of his 20 mark pieces as a souvenir. This is the first time I have ever told you the way us boys have to meet a Jerry on the field and it will probably be the last time to.
I won't be able to do any more writing until I get back from the lines. The next day after we got dug in, I got seven letters with my rations, and mail in a place like that sure puts the pep into a man.
Hoping you get this letter and to hear from you soon,
Via N. Y.
I remain, As ever, Pvt. Ira O. Wells, 2078152, Co. A 132 Infantry. American E. F., France.
P. S. I haven't had my shoes off for a month now, and have washed three times and shaved twice during that period. We are lucky to get water to drink.
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From Wallace Vaughan, 118th Co. U. S. Marine Corps.
Honolulu, T. H., Jan. 8, '19.
Dear Mother:
I've noticed all the letters from the boys-both overseas and at home which are printed in the "News" and thought it would be O. K. to write a letter about Honolulu and the Island of Oahu and the Marines.
To begin with I cannot tell any war story. I sure wish I could, but all the fighting we do is with our respected enemies the doughboys and gobs. Incidentally we have to fight a large population of mosquitoes-but-we are not here to fight ; we are doing guard duty. Instead of having a daily routine our schedule runs through three days and then begins all over again.
As in all army camps we wake at 5:45 to the tune of first call-at this time of the year, a good hour before sunrise and quite cool. At six o'clock the post's pet peeve blows re- veille and we erawl out from our mosquito nets (its impossible to sleep without this pro- tection from mosquitoes) and at 6:15 are in ranks for roll call and physical exercise. Then begins our 3 day routine. Commeneing with the day our company is on guard.
About half the Company is detailed for a guard to the work train which brings the navy yard workers from Hololulu to Pearl Harbor. The rest do police duty around the barracks. Upon returning from train guard we have troop-as we call rifle inspection -next comes guard mount except on Mondays and Wednesdays. When we have parade first. We have formal guard mount every day but Saturday and Sunday. Then guard is divided and sent to the different places to be guarded-details being sent to East and West gates-radio station and barracks. The detail at barracks does all the navy yard and dry dock guards and that is the detail most of us try to keep away from. My favorite guard is second relief at the radio station. The guard is divided into 3 reliefs-each relief does eight hours on post. The eight hours is divided into two watches of 212 hours each and one watch of 3 hours.
Guard duty is not hard but an awful bore. Night sleep is broken as you get it two or three hours at a time and bad sleep at that as shoes and leggins are all that are allowed to be removed while in guard room or camp as case may be. The second day there is nothing doing until police call at 1 o'clock and then we work at most anything the police sergeant desires until 4:30 in afternoon or before if he wants to let us off. The police sergeant is a pessimistic old Irishman who has been a soldier all his life and he works in streaks. We will have it easy for a few days and then he works us like horses. If you are lucky enough yo get off from police work before 3 o'clock you may go "on liberty" when liberty call blows. That beloved eall goes at 3 o'clock and every Marine off duty may do as he pleases until 7:45 the next morning.
The third day we spend in doing whatever the Captain desires. We troop, quarters inspection and then drill or hike for the rest of the day. Next day we start all over again. The Marines do the hardest duty of any outfit on the Island but we probably are allowed away from post more than any other branch excepting the Coast Defense Corps at Fort Kamehameha.
My experience in Marine Corps has been a little different from most of the boys who have gone from home. Being at a regular post is different than at a cantonment or in the field. While war was on it was very little different here than in peace time. We do regular peace time duty.
Honolulu is situated on a fairly well protected harbor which is, I believe, of natural formation-protected on East by Diamond Head and on West by a point which bears
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an Hawaiian name. The entrance to the harbor is to South and protected by coral reefs excepting in Channel. Inside the reef the water is deep enough for the largest ships right up to the land. The vegation here is largely tropical. Probably the greatest pest we have here (outside of mosquitoes and orientals) is the Algorobis tree. It is a small tree with long needlelike thorns and is very painful to run against. It is not a native of the Island and the story goes that it was introduced here by the missionaries so as to make the natives wear clothing. It sure did and if they did not keep putting the trees out every year it would soon make them wear armor.
Pearl Harbor is a short distance west of Honolulu and at present about 7597 of Navy Yard is under construction-when finished will be one of the finest and best navy yards in the world. On East end of Honolulu is the famous "Beach et Waikiki" and also a very beautiful park which has some unspellable and unpronounceable Hawaiian name. Waikiki is certainly a beautiful place but the beach is full of sharp coral and the water is shallow unless one goes beyond reefs and takes the chance of meeting a man eating shark, so swimming is not very good. There are several fine hotels on the beach, also the Outriggu Canoe Club where there is a very fine dance floor.
Whatever one says of Hawaii he will certainly have to say their evenings and nights are wonderful. There is always a breeze and it's cool if not chilly. As for stars-one doesn't know how many stars there are until he sees them on a clear night over here. I'd be willing to bet there are three to every one in Illinois. Well-there are good points and bad points to Hawaii and as for myself-I'll be glad to be home. One thing about it is-its an open air country-the people eat, sleep, dance, go to movies, ete, all in open air. Houses are principally a protection from rain.
There are many interesting things I could tell but guess I've used enough of Mr. Y. M. C. A.'s paper.
I haven't bothered to speak of Hawaiian music as you have heard that but will say that you can multiply several times the imitation Hawaiian music you hear and you will have real Hawaiian music.
Remember me to every one. WALLACE Pearl Harbor, T. H.
118 Co. U. S. M. C.
From Peter J. Phalen, Battery C, 123d Field Art.
Sancort, France, Nov. 24, 1918.
Dear Dad:
Well, dad, as today has been set aside for all solchers in the A. E. F., to write to their fathers, I am writing to you. I have never written to you before as I thought that my letters to mother and sis were sufficient. I sometimes bad hard work writing to them as often as I did.
I am going to tell you everything that has happened since we sailed from Hoboken. We are allowed to write that now that the war is over. It is quite a long story as it ex- tends over eight months' time. Here goes:
We hoarded the good ship "Kishmir, " British ship, May 26th, and sailed from Hobo- ken, N. J., May 27. On our boat were the 122nd F. A., the 58th F. A. B. Headquarters, the 108th French Mortar Battery, the 108th Mobile Ordnance and two companies of the 303d Engineers. I was pretty lucky coming over as I wasn't sick at all. Some of the fellows were pretty sick, though. Well, we sighted the coast of Ireland, about 9:30 p. m., June 6th, and we landed at Liverpool, Eng .. June 7th, and disembarked June Sth.
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I certainly felt a long way from home that morning. I feel very close right now. After we got off the boat we hiked about four miles to a camp. It was called "Knotty Ash." We stayed over night. That was long enough as the English camps do not come up to the American ones in any way. We had to sleep on the floor as there were no beds. Of course, that was something unusual for us at that time, but we got used to it soon after that. We left Knotty Ash at 12 o'clock June 9th and arrived at a rest camp at Winchester, England the same night after hiking about 6 miles from the train to the camp. We had a little better quarters in this eamp as it was much more modern than the others. We stayed there until Wednesday, the 12th. While there we had our first chance of taking a bath since we left the States. Maybe it didn't feel good.
When we left Winchester we went to Southampton. We arrived there about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and had to wait until dark before we could take a boat to go across the channel. When we awoke the next morning we were in the harbor at Le Havre, France. So you see we first landed in France on June 13th, 1918. We weren't very unlucky, either. I forgot to tell you that while in Winchester I ran into Philip MeGrath, the one whose mother lives down on College avenue.
We got off the boat at Le Havre that morning about nine o'clock and marched to a camp which was about four miles away. We only stayed there one night and the next day we started out again. We traveled two days and two nights and arrived in Ornans, Doubs, June 16th at 11 o'clock A. M. On our way there we passed through the entire outskirts of Paris. I certainly would like to spend about a month there.
I was at Ornans until June 20th and then I was sent out as a elerk with a "horse detail" to Beseanon, a city of about 100,000 population about 19 kilometers away. I dont' sup- pose you know how much a kilometer is-one kilometer is equal to three-fifths of a mile. I certainly had a good time and a very easy job. We were buying horses from the French to supply our regiments. The French people surely treated us fine all the time we were there. As a good thing never lasts very long, we were sent back to our organization Aug. 15th. They were then at Valdahou, a big French training camp. Well, it was kind of hard to go back to work again, but we didn't stay there very long. We started for the front August 23rd.
I didn't write and tell you I was going because I didn't want you to worry about me. I wrote and toll Bernardine about it but I told her not to tell you. There is no more need to worry now as it is all over with. I tell you there are many light-hearted lads in France right now, and I am one of them.
The first front we went to was the St. Mihiel salient, the Toul sector. You probably have read about it in the papers. We were billeted in an old chateau. It was certainly a beautiful old place, but again it was too good to last as we left there Sept. 15. We went to the Verdun front. There we took part in what I think was the decisive battle of the war. We were in the Argonne woods. We held three different positions there. We were in action 21 days without relief and such a hell you could never be able to realize what we went through from Sept. 26 until Oct. 12. I could not explain it, no matter how hard I would try. I will tell you more about it when I get back. We lost one Dixon boy there. You probably know who it is.
Well, they finally decided to make us a motorized regiment. We started back to a eamp to get our motors. We arrived at Saucort, Oct. 31. We were only here a short time when peace was declared. Maybe there wasn't some celebrating when we heard that.
Well, dad, keep an eye out for a job for me as it won't be long until we are coming
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back. Tell mother I will write to her later in the week. I suppose it is getting cokl in Dixon by this time. It is getting quite chilly over here.
Will close as I have written quite a long letter for me. Say "hello" to all my Dixon friends. With love and kisses to all, Your loving son and Irother,
P. J. Phalen
PETE. Bat. C. 123 F. A., A. E. F.
From Corporal Herbert D. MeDermott. (He died in June 1919, after returning home, as the result of his wounds.)
Cape May, N. J .. Dec. 12, 1918.
Dear Mother, Father and All:
Your letter received and also the box of eats. The eats sure were appreciated and was a surprise on my stomach. The nurse gave me a couple of C. C. Pills for fear of the worse.
Well, mother when I left the good old U. S. A. over some eleven months ago, I left Heaven, went through Hell, and landed at Hoboken, N. J. after seeing service over there for eight months.
You know mother when I left the states over eleven months ago, I bought a round trip ticket and I would have been rather disappointed is I didn't get to use the other half.
On the ship going over the British starved us, and we starved for about a month before we went to the lines.
They say, Join the army and see the world, but it sure is H-when a fellow has to see it on foot. For I am safe in saying I saw nearly all of France and England on foot, and would love to have written a letter home from Berlin.
Once in a while we would get in old cars. They would herd us in like so many hogs and we would be like sardines and would ride for two days and three nights, and what a lovely place to sleep.
"Over The Top"
Well mother I will never forget the first time I went over the top as long as I live. For the Major, a hard boiled dog. said to us one night, "That tomorrow we were to get our full equipment as we were to go up close to the lines to get kind of an idea what war was like."
Well we had chow about four o'clock and our packs all rolled ready to leave at 4:30. We just got nicely started, when in France as usual it rains. We kept on hiking, no chance for a rest, and we had only about 150 lbs. on our back besides our rifle and bullets.
We hiked until about 2:30 in the morning when we were halted, and told to dig in and the Major told us to dig a good hole and put up our tents, and cover it with dead grass. So when the airplanes went over, they would not see us and drop bombs on us.
A fellow and myself in my squad dug in together, had a fine hole, and unrolled our paeks. We were just as happy as a lark expecting a good nights sleep after our long hike, and just ready to flop. When "Big Bertha " the german gun started shelling on us, killing and wounding some of our men.
Just then a frog runner came back and told us to take the lines as the Germans were coming after them, with the best troops the Kaiser had, his marines and Prussian Guards.
Kaiser's Best Troops
Well we crawled out of our cozy little bunk, lined up in combat formation and re- lieved the frogs, went over the top with the best of luck. We battled the square heads
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back over eleven kilometers before noon the next day. Well we had to dig in then, and wait for our own artillery as we doughboys advanced so fast and killed some of our own men. Well we signalled back to the artillery that they would have to raise their range, so they did and we went over after them again.
Well mother I sure had some close shaves, had guys picked off all around me, I had a shell break beside me, and it broke my rifle to pieces-but I never got a scratch. We battled for 18 or 20 days and then got relieved having lost so many men there was only 54 left out of 265 men strong.
At Chateau Thierry.
We went back to get our company filled up again and we went up again. Well, I sure was lucky all the time, until the last day we went up in July, and this was the turning battle being the largest battle of the war on the Chateau Thierry front. Well I went for three days and four nights without anything to eat, not along a drink of water unless we came to a stream and we had to be careful that it wasn't poisoned after goine so long without anything to eat, drink or sleep. A fellow and me in my squad were picked out to go out on a cossack post, out in " No Man's Land." We were supposed to go on from seven to nine, but when we went on they left us on all night until just before daylight we were relieved. I went back to the line and got in a hole with a Sergeant from A com- pany, and we both felt sleepy. As we would give most anything for a couple hours sleep, and as we were planning the square heads sent over some gas, and I was ready just in time to save his life and mine. Well this didn't bother me any and in about 15 minutes we went over again and fought a few more days and got relieved. We went back just long enough to fill up our company and went back again.
Well, I sure was a lucky guy until about the seventh day of August, after battling them for about 12 days we counted our men and had 50 men left in our company.
Swam the Vesle
Well we thought we were going to get relieved, but an order came that we had to take the Vesle River, we sent out two patrols, and the first lost all their men, and the second one came back with just one Sergeant left, and he was wounded and he said the machine gun bullets were thicker than hair on a dog along the river bank. Then they sent the engineers over, to put trees across for us dough boys to cross on, but the engineers couldn't get up as the bullets were too thick. But an order came to send us over at any cost. So we started and the Germans opened up with machine guns, picking us off like flies. When we came to the river we had to swim it through a cross fire of machine gun bullets. Well I got across without a serateb, and advanced about 20 rods over the river when I got an awful erack on my hip. I was hit by a high explosive, I looked at my suit to see if there was any blood and there wasn't so I saw I was just stunned. But we kept on fighting as we saw that the square heads had machine guns in the trees. Well we finally got them on the run again, and I was in fine shape, not even a seratch, there being about twenty-five of us left.
Well we battled them off the next railroad and lined up as skirmishers and across the field to take the main road, we advanced through high explosives, gas and machine gun bullets.
Hit Over the Eye.
We got up to within 20 rods of the square heads when we started firing at will, and 1 was firing like -when I got hit with a machine gun bullet over the right eye, it went through my steel helmet and went in my head and stuck and I said to the guy next to me, a fellow from California. "They got me." and fell and that is all I knew until I came to my senses
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again, I got up put my hat on and loaded my riffe, it in one hand and my heart in the other. saw my empty space in the line and I sure thank the Lord that I was strong enough to fill the gap, and we rushed the square heads off the bank. For after I saw the pool of blood I had made and although I had to wipe the blood out of my eye every time I pulled the trigger, I got some shots at them after I was wounded, and every time my rifle barked, something hit the dust. For you know mother I was always crack in the rifle range at Camp Green and Camp Grant. I was up on the bank firing when the Captain from A company came over took my gun and belt of shells away from me, and said I should get my head bandaged or I'd bleed to death, and to dig in. So I got down and was digging in when a piece of high explosive came along and it just took a little piece of hide off my left arm, and hit the guy next to me and gave him quite a gash. Mine didn't amount to much just like a vaccination mark. I can tell you mother if a man ever prays, he will pray when he is advancing, and the big shells are bursting all around his hair. I tell you it was a great game nothing like that "Free For All" stuff they have at Harmon.
Wounded-Fell in River.
Well, after my buddies bandaged my head, that night some more wounded fellows and myself started back to the first aid, and when we were crossing the Vesle river, I slip- ped and fell in, but I swam out. Well, we arrived and I walked in and upon the operating table and they got pieces of my steel helmet out of my head, but not the bullet and when I woke up I found myself in bed with a pair of pajamas on, I was just like a new born babe coming into the world. The first thing I done when the nurse woke me, or I'd be sleeping yet if she didn't, was to ask her if she would do me two favors, one was to get me something to eat, and then get me a suit. So she got me something to eat right away. But said I had better stay in bed. When I ate I felt like a new man. So I told her to get me a pair of pants as I couldn't stay in bed, and she was a real girl, and brought me a uni- form. I stayed there 2 days and was sent to Angers, France, base hospital No. 27 I was there about two weeks and transferred to the cemetery and was there about two weeks and marked Class A full duty, and he said I would be going back to my company in a few days. I was Corporal acting Sergeant for twenty days when I got hit, and would be sergeant when I got back. So the morning I was to leave my head bursted open with abscesses so I was transferred back to hase 72 for another operation and I had the bullet taken out and stayed there two weeks. The colonel came in one day and told me I was booked for the States.
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