Handwritten Diary 1913 Army Service 5th Calvary Ft Sheridan/WWI 1st Div/Spc Pol,
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:363382 | Modified Item: No |
| Type: Handwritten Notebook Diary | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
This is a fascinating glimpse of history written by a man who entered the Army in 1913. The diary says it was written in 1935 and is in a lined notebook. This gentleman describes his Calvary service where he was assigned to Fort Sheridan and, among other duties, acted as a prison guard. His spelling and grammar are not always the best but he expresses himself very well and you can not only learn a lot of history from reading this but get a sense of what life for an average soldier of t...he time was like. I suspect there aren't many who would want to relive it but it is moving and inspiring to read it. He mentions going into Mexico to make raids and how little water and food was available to them and discusses eating rancid beans to stay alive. He says when they came out of Mexico the troops were so thin they were ordered to wear heavy clothing to cover that up. He also mentions that moving pictures of he and the troops were taken by plane at the time but he doesn't known by whom, how it was used and never saw them. He refers to his group as "the toughest bunch of soldiers that ever walked".
He then mentions the call for volunteers for the First Division by General Pershing and says he volunteered and was placed in the ammunition train, horse division. He says he was in Texas but his group was rushed "secretly" to New York to Fort Wadsworth where they stayed for 4-5 days before boarding and English passenger ship called Lapland. From there the ship went to Southampton, England. They were then shipped across the English Channel to "Mount sur Slaux". Once there they trained horses for the artillery and used them to keep the military supplied with ammunition. He states they were called the suicide outfit because they rode to the front lines at night bringing in supplies and were often shelled and gassed.
I am so moved by what I read here of the times he was gassed and the horrors he endured. I can't document everything here, but truly, it feels like a movie script just reading it even though this was not an officer or "big time", well known man. It comes across as genuine and unexaggerated but he lived through things most of us can only imagine. Interestingly, he refers to the enemy Germans as "Dutchman" as well as "Hinie". He mentions one time when the Germans came in and bombed the stables where they were killing all the horses. Saint Michel & Argonne Offensive are both mentioned. He mentions going into a church, drawn by the singing, when a direct hit to the organ area blew up the church causing temporary blindness.
In 1918 he was "talked into" joining a special police school by a Lt. Osborne in Autin, France. After a few months of training he was one of 200 selected to pick up Americans who had deserted or committed crimes during the War. He mentions going to Naples where it was really bad due to many diseases "small Pox Barbers Itch". No idea on that one! He says his group was issued special police cards signed by King [Emunal.
I'm going to stop the summary here, but it continues with many fascinating details and I feel sure anyone at all interested in the history of this time period will find this interesting. It is actually sad that this man's family let this little treasure go. The gentleman involved here was apparently living in Pennsylvania at least when the last of this was written. There are a total of 41 pages in this tablet. It looks like he may have been writing the whole thing from memory rather than at the time it all actually happened, but possibly he started it in 1935 and finished it later. It's all written in pencil so it's difficult to tell. Near the end, he mentions trying to re-enlist for World War II but not being accepted because of a burst eardrum from World War I. I'm guessing this was actually written from memory in the late 1950's but I don't know for sure. There are a few pieces of handwritten, folded paper describing being in a hospital in 1968, so I presume the handwritten account in the tablet was done before that. In addition, there are a few typed pages that look like it may have been an attempt by someone to put the handwritten pages into a more readable format.
I hope someone who can appreciate what this man did and his account of it will get this as it is simply a small gem which deserves better than it has gotten so far.
He then mentions the call for volunteers for the First Division by General Pershing and says he volunteered and was placed in the ammunition train, horse division. He says he was in Texas but his group was rushed "secretly" to New York to Fort Wadsworth where they stayed for 4-5 days before boarding and English passenger ship called Lapland. From there the ship went to Southampton, England. They were then shipped across the English Channel to "Mount sur Slaux". Once there they trained horses for the artillery and used them to keep the military supplied with ammunition. He states they were called the suicide outfit because they rode to the front lines at night bringing in supplies and were often shelled and gassed.
I am so moved by what I read here of the times he was gassed and the horrors he endured. I can't document everything here, but truly, it feels like a movie script just reading it even though this was not an officer or "big time", well known man. It comes across as genuine and unexaggerated but he lived through things most of us can only imagine. Interestingly, he refers to the enemy Germans as "Dutchman" as well as "Hinie". He mentions one time when the Germans came in and bombed the stables where they were killing all the horses. Saint Michel & Argonne Offensive are both mentioned. He mentions going into a church, drawn by the singing, when a direct hit to the organ area blew up the church causing temporary blindness.
In 1918 he was "talked into" joining a special police school by a Lt. Osborne in Autin, France. After a few months of training he was one of 200 selected to pick up Americans who had deserted or committed crimes during the War. He mentions going to Naples where it was really bad due to many diseases "small Pox Barbers Itch". No idea on that one! He says his group was issued special police cards signed by King [Emunal.
I'm going to stop the summary here, but it continues with many fascinating details and I feel sure anyone at all interested in the history of this time period will find this interesting. It is actually sad that this man's family let this little treasure go. The gentleman involved here was apparently living in Pennsylvania at least when the last of this was written. There are a total of 41 pages in this tablet. It looks like he may have been writing the whole thing from memory rather than at the time it all actually happened, but possibly he started it in 1935 and finished it later. It's all written in pencil so it's difficult to tell. Near the end, he mentions trying to re-enlist for World War II but not being accepted because of a burst eardrum from World War I. I'm guessing this was actually written from memory in the late 1950's but I don't know for sure. There are a few pieces of handwritten, folded paper describing being in a hospital in 1968, so I presume the handwritten account in the tablet was done before that. In addition, there are a few typed pages that look like it may have been an attempt by someone to put the handwritten pages into a more readable format.
I hope someone who can appreciate what this man did and his account of it will get this as it is simply a small gem which deserves better than it has gotten so far.
