mndoughboy1918

[mndoughboy1918]

This blog has moved! Please visit Robert and follow his story at https://mndoughboy1918.com

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Mother

March 27, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s mother:

Dear Mother,

It seems I told you a little too soon that you should stop writing to me, for I have received no mail for a week, but I’ll leave France soon so I did not miss it far. However I will be lonesome without any mail. The latest dope out is that we leave here Apr. 2nd for Brest (If the spook that started this dope had made it Apr. 1 I would have known it was untrue).

We had our final inspection today out of the sand in the rain. The S.O.S. inspectors are very important appearing and hold these field inspections holy. Rain or no rain. Of course our blankets etc. are wet + filled with sand. The lieut said if we had any cooties they would not bite tonight because their eyes would be filled with sand + they couldn’t find us. But I am rid of them now. I change underwear twice a week + boil the suit I take off just to make sure. They have a good bath house here. It is a hot shower that can bathe 1,000 men in four hours. They have to turn on cold water to drive us out.

Our Major has been made a Lieut Colonel and I am very glad for he is a fine man.

They say that the 35th will parade at St. Louis + Kansas City for two days on our return but I may not be held for this.

Since we got our typho inoculations we have had little to do but tomorrow I guess we will work on the roads in camp again. Just to kill time. 

The address that you sent me for Gilbert is Reg. Sup. Sgt. Hdq. Co. Regimental Supply Sgts. are always in the Supply Co., as far as I know. Perhaps that is the reason why he did not receive my two (2) letters. At least he has not answered.

The thought has come to me lately that perhaps you expect me to come home loaded with German helmets etc. For some reason or other the doughboys who have lots of chance to get such junk won’t be bothered with it. We never get the fever. The other branches of the service go wild over the stuff and will no doubt flood the U.S. with it. Signal men, railway engineers etc. will pay a hundred dollars for a Bosh helmet that I wouldn’t carry ten feet.

Lately we have been buying canned peaches + caned milk and eating them before going to bed. Pretty swell after one year of prunes and dried apples.

I cut out a picture of a big steaming hot boiled ham in color from a Post + put it up on the bulletin board. It was down in the morning. I guess someone saw it + went crazy + tried to eat it.

Most of the men were in bed from the typho shot yesterday but I didn’t miss any meals.

Well Mother I must get my bunk made before taps. The S.O.S. won’t allow any lights after taps.

Love from your loving son, Rob.

Will be home about May 15. R.

Hard to track down a ���picture of a big steaming hot boiled ham in color from a Post,” but you can get the idea pretty easily. Robert’s pre-war employer, Swift, was famous for their delicious-looking print ads:

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Note: This blog is moving to http://mndoughboy.com; please move your bookmarks to that site.

Next: Letter to Dad

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Dad

March 22, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s father:

Dear Dad,

Your letter of March 2nd came this morning. I am surprised to hear that you are not getting letters from me regularly. I write often but when we are anticipating a move toward home the days slip by faster than usual.

The men in B Co. are receiving a great many news clippings telling of the hardships the 35th encountered in the Argonne. Everything that has been said is true I guess but why do they keep it up? That is over long ago. I did not expect to find a grocery store in No-Man’s land when I started. I knew that I had sixteen oz. of corned beef, the same of hard bread + 1 qt. of water to last till I got out. They told us that before I started in. A man can live on it too.

“The Lion that eats a full meal will lose a battle with a starved wildcat.” I am afraid if they don’t quit the 35th may get to stay here. They might spoil things for us.

I am still a corporal so do not worry about that, and it sure pays to be one now too. All we do now is grade roads in this camp + non-coms act as bosses. I never did care much about pick + shovel work anyway. Today is the first day I have had to be boss even. I just sleep or read.

I am sorry that you are having cold weather now. It may make a late spring which is bad for fruit.

There will be four divisions returned in April before the 35th. We are supposed to go to St. Nazaire April 1st and will sail about the 25th. I do not think they will hold us long in the states so I should be free by May 15th.

In every letter I get from you, you mention a different job for me. They all sound good but I will not decide til I can talk things over with you.

I notice that Mr. Miller is preaching sermons on war subjects. I would like very much to hear what he has to say. You know a “Y” man sees a different side from the soldier, usually. “Y” men have a full stomach and no pack on their backs.

The reason I do not write any more about my experiences is that I can’t do them justice in a letter and anyway I would rather tell you all about it when I get home.

There seems to be some talk still about the amount of venereal disease in the A.E.F. There is a prison here built by the Belgian Army when they had this camp. It covers about 4 city blocks + has a 20-foot barbed wire fence about it. I passed a guard on duty there this morning and asked him how many prisoners they had. He pointed to a group of men and said there they are. There were about 50 I think. the camp here is for all men passing through the Le Mans area.

Well Dad there is plenty of food + rest here. It is better than ever before. We get 15% more food than regular issue. There are shows in the many YMCAs but time drags pretty much and I shall be mighty glad when the next six weeks will be up. I think I will get no mail for about three of those weeks which will make things worse but I guess I can stand it if the rest can.

If you have promised the green cottage to Bess or anyone else, Elinore + I could get one at Lake Sarah or somewhere else but I would like to be at Rebecca. I want to be there where I can see all of you till you get tired of seeing me around. I am especially anxious to see Ruth. I bet she has changed an awful lot. Not in nature but in looks. I believe Ruth is my favorite sister if I have one at all. I love them all so much that I never had any favorite. 

I am tired of France + the army and want to take a rest.

Aunt Aggie sends the Gartshores’ love to the Wests.

Your loving son, Corp. Rob.

P.S. I hope Mother is over the bronchitis now. Rob.

You have to admire Robert’s attitude about the hardships he and the 140th faced in the Argonne. I’m not surprised that they were seeing newspaper clippings about it, because the Governor of Kansas, Henry Allen (who had been in France with the 35th Division back in July) had delivered some fiery speeches in Washington D.C. in January and February about the Division’s shameful lack of supplies and artillery support. He also accused the Army of underestimating the number of casualties suffered in the Argonne. It was a very big story in newspapers across the country. This is from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 18, 1919:

Also, regarding Robert’s fear that the 140th’s complaints could cause them to be kept longer in France: it may not have been something to worry about, but Robert was not alone in feeling this way. From Richard S. Faulkner in Pershing’s Crusaders:

One doughboy recalled, “Everyone said that getting assigned to a transport depended on good behavior. There were stories of outfits being kept two months at Brest because they straggled when they marched, or were shy the proper number of tent pegs per man. We believed everything we heard.” A rumor spread that one regiment was yanked from the ship taking them home because one of its members had yelled, “Who won the war?” to the dockside MPs.

Interesting that Robert made a point of saying he was still a corporal, and even underlined it in his closing line. I’m not sure if he needed to tell his parents that he had not been promoted again, or if he was telling them that he hadn’t been busted back down to private.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Mother

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Mother

March 19, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s mother:

Dear Mother,

Betting about camp favors two to one that we will sail before Apr. 10th, but I’d never bet on anything cause orders can be changed too easily.

We moved yesterday from the tents at the Rifle Range into barracks and I hear that we are due for another move in a few days to another part of camp.

This morning we passed in review and one of the Generals was presented with a Cross of War. He was never in action with us but, as one of the lieutenants said, “He saved the wood of Pont-sur-Meuse.” You remember he would not let us have fires last winter. He is as well liked as the flu. There were a whole raft of S.O.S. officers there + the 140th sure knocked their eyes out. Our line was perfect. Of course it rained + we had no coats + nearly froze standing at attention for half an hour.

They are busy building an enormous camp here. I guess the whole A.E.F. will pass through Le Mans on the way home. There are ten Y.M.C.A. buildings here already. They all have signs posted that they sell at Y.M. prices now. Evidently some of the charges are true since the Y.M. had to regulate them. What I have against the Y is that we never saw them on the front. There were a lot after Nov. 11th. Still they did a lot of good behind the lines in the S.O.S., at least in the big cities.

The “dough boys” have a song they sing called “Mother take down your Service Flag Your boy’s in the S.O.S. 

The S.O.S. means non-combatant units, or Source of Supplies.

I got a letter from Helen she says she is going to teach next year + not finish school. How about that? She seems to be having a good time at Winona. Her teacher told her that she should stop studying so hard. Goodness she is different from most of the West kids isn’t she?

Evidently Horace thought that I was not in the army, or else he thought I did not see any action. I hope he didn’t get any more action than I did.

I am very glad that Bess has recovered from the flu. She wrote that Henry had it but that she would not, because her mental control was too strong. She must have lost her morale.

Our Captain has joined the Regular Army and has gone to Germany. He enlisted for four years. 

Well Mother I must close + go to dinner.

You are not half as anxious to see that boy of mine as I am. I would like Elinore to meet me in St. Paul as you suggested but she said that she would rather I go to Sauk Centre + get her. Perhaps that is the best way. You know how it would be if she was your daughter. I will come to St. Paul first of course + will have time to see you, then go to Sauk Centre, and if you wish we will come to see you. I hope I can get the little cottage at the lake. I want to take a rest of a couple of weeks before I start work, + Lake Rebecca will suit me as well as anywhere.

You said that you would not speak to me if I went A.W.O.L. + got busted. Well I don’t think I will but I still think Art Herbert did perfectly right when he went to Paris to spend New Year’s Day with his father-in-in-law. There was no reason for not giving him the pass that he asked for. I guess there is no chance of me being made a Sergeant. We have four or five too many now.

Love to all,

Rob.

Robert is talking about General Dugan here; the story of the General not allowing the men to light fires to keep warm was covered last month. In From Doniphan to Verdun, Chaplain Edwards also mentioned the fact that the General received a medal for work the men had done before he got there:

Although he joined us twelve days after we came out, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his good work in handling the 70th brigade in the Argonne-Meuse offensive! At least the citation so read.

The General is on the left here.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Dad

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Mother

March 16, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s mother:

Dear Mother,

Well there is no news today but the sun is shining and I feel more like my self. Just think in 1918 there were only 33 days of no rain out of 365 and they call it “sunny France.”

I wish I could sit on the tin roofed balcony of “my” room on the hottest August day just to absorb a few sunbeams. As I sit here writing this the sun went out + it is raining hard.

We get cream of wheat for breakfast at times now. It sure tastes like ice cream after so many days of rice. Of course a little sugar + milk would help some, but it is just wonderful without.

This morning we passed in review before the Colonel, had an examination by medical officers + went to a memorial service in memory of the 140th men who lost their lives over here.

I guess I will not be able to qualify as a marksman. I can’t seem to hit anything anymore. Of course I blame the rifle but I could not hit with a shot gun. I think I will go deer hunting with Gilbert next November (if I get home by then) and see if I can get a deer. If I don’t shoot any better than I am here the deer are safe though.

The Y.M.C.A. is giving away hot chocolate now for a franc a cup. Those that buy it, do not realize that a franc is 20¢. This money has no value with us, and every body that can, takes advantage of the boys. I don’t draw enough over here though to give much away. As a private I only got about $3.50 a month. Now I get about $14 and I have sent Elinore over $50. That’s living close isn’t it? But I don’t need much here and I guess I will when I get back.

When you get this I suppose you will al be at the lake planting carrots, potatoes, radishes etc. and burning brush if there is any to burn. I can not help but think how much wood we wasted. The branches form a large tree, smaller than one inch thick, would keep a French family a whole year.

I expect to leave here Wednesday. We will go to some little town + live in barns again til they get ready to send us home.

I hope you have recovered from the bronchitis. Do be careful. We have all been very fortunate this winter. Get out to the lake as soon as possible.

Your loving son

Rob.

I’m not 100% clear on Robert’s money situation. As discussed back in July, he was paid $30/month as a private and $36/month as a corporal, and had a mandatory allotment that he had to send home. Robert had also said previously that he was sending more home than what was required. It’s possible that he’s talking above about how much he’s left with each month after paying these allotments.

The Y.M.C.A.’s hot chocolate may have been expensive by Robert’s standards, but it was apparently popular, according to History of the Y.M.C.A. in the Le Mans Area:

Lastly, I talked yesterday about “The Belgian Camp” and learned today that it been previously known as Camp d’Auvours. In addition to its place in French military history, it was also known for having been the site of several famous exhibition flights by Wilbur Wright between August and December 1908.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Mother

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Dad

March 15, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s father:

Le Mans

Dear Dad,

Well I am three days (via rail) nearer home than when I last wrote but there is still a lot to be done in the way of waiting till I get home. We are shooting on the rifle range now.

This camp is a tented one like Camp Mills. It is called The Old Belgian Camp and is about six miles from Le Mans. We will leave here about eh 18th and will billet in small towns till our turn comes to clean up Brest. It is rumored that we will sail April 25 but one can never tell anything till it happens.

The trip here was not so hard. We came on American trains and had our bed sacks on the floor of the cars. Of course it is tiresome eating canned stuff all the time.

I got a box from Scotland yesterday. I do not know who it was from but I rather think it was from Geo. West because I got some soup cubes in this one like the last they sent me.

The only thing I like about this camp is the bath house. It is open all the time + I make good use of it too.

I suppose it is nearly time to move out to the lake if you are not having your winter now. The weather is still cold here. There is little change from what we have had all winter. It is almost as rainy here as it is farther east. 

Well as there is no more news I will close.

Love to all

Rob.

Yes, the 140th’s long winter at Pont-sur-Meuse is finally over and they really are heading to the coast. Technically, they were in Champagne, and “The Belgian Camp” had been previously known as Camp d’Auvours.

We’re almost done hearing from Chaplain Edwards, but he was still with the 140th:

On the eighth of March we left Boncourt, and in three days were in the Le Mans area. Here we were placed in tents and were given a week on the rifle range. The kitchens were enormous, well arranged sheds, and the men were easily fed.

Robert calls their current location “The Belgian Camp,” while Chaplain Edwards says they will be moving there in a few days. Nevertheless, I’ll start talking about it here.

The Belgian Camp was one of several large bases set up by the Army and supported by the Y.M.C.A., first for troops arriving in France and now as Army Embarkation Centers as the A.E.F. began sending divisions home.

This is from History of the Y.M.C.A. in the Le Mans Area, published in 1920:

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Mother

[mndoughboy1918]

Robert, Immortalized

Throughout this whole project, with all of Robert’s ups and downs, there was one pair of diary entries that really stuck with me. This was when Robert and the 140th were in Monchaux, France, being trained by the British army (and fed by the British cooks).

May 23rd, 1918:

The food is still very poor. I hope it gets better. Asked Sgt. Haley to put me on K.P. so I could eat more.

May 24th, 1918:

On K.P. today. I got enough to eat.

Something about this moment in time just really resonated with me - Robert had just turned 23 a few weeks earlier, had been married and in the army about three months, was 4,000 miles from home, and was eating bad food but so hungry he needed to get more of it. 

I wanted to find a way to commemorate this. Then I thought of Tim Godden, an illustrator in the UK who has created a series of wonderful World War One pieces, most notably the illustrations used in Percy: A Story of 1918. I reached out to Tim and commissioned an illustration for this piece of Robert’s story.

I’m so honored to present Tim’s illustration of Robert, getting his extra portion of terrible Army food:

Next: Letter to Dad

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Mother

March 5, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s mother:

My dear Mother,

I wish when you said that you wanted me to get you something real “Frenchy” that you had given me some little idea of what sort of souvenir you would like. It is terribly hard for me to think of anything but I will bring something if it is only a handkerchief. There is nothing over here that I would carry home for myself. Many of the men are sending Hun helmets, shells, belts, German uniforms and car loads of other things, but so far I have not had any desire for a thing. I have had lots of stuff that I could have sent but feel that if I get my hide back all together I have done well.

I will leave this town Sunday the 9th and will be on the road three days going to the coast. We will be at a little town about 9 kilometers from Le Mans. No doubt we will not sail until Apr. 25, I will get two service bars alright. I guess I will be sent to Dodge to be mustered out, but I am not sure yet.

The mail is being held so I have not had any for a few days and will not get any for over a week.

I will be mighty glad to be out of the army. Every pay day there are fights over card games, etc. Two men went to the Base with busted heads Sunday. One got hit with a beer bottle and the other with a bayonet. I don’t know whether they will live or not.

The Y.M.C.A. will close Wednesday and so there will be no more shows, nor a canteen. 

Well Mother as there is no more news I will close. I am glad that you have had a mild winter and that you all have kept well.

Your loving son,

Robert.

Hard to believe, but after more than three months, Robert is right - the 140th is leaving Pont-sur-Meuse shortly and this is the last letter he wrote there. 

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Robert, Immortalized

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Dad

March 5, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s father:

Dear Dad

I can’t understand why you are not getting my letters. I have written to some of you at least twice each week.

This will be the last letter you will get from me from this town. I will leave here in two days for Le Mans or some camp near there, perhaps in pup tents.

I wish that you had taken some other line ten years ago. I think you have been with the M.I.R. Co. long enough to get a pension. You have been on the road for them nearly 20 years now haven’t you? I do not think the Range business will be very good for a few years do you? That is why it seems strange to me that those old range men are giving up old lines and risking a failure with a new one.

If Cook has a good line and Nisbett a poor line go in partnership with both of them. You ought to make expense money that way at least.

I do not know what division Gilbert is in but I do not think he has been ordered home yet, since he just got over here. But he may be since they favor the ones that saw no action while the “Missouri River Rats” will be kept here as long as possible. It’s just my luck to be one of them.

You asked me for cutlery manufacturers names. The only industry in Pont-sur-Meuse is the Y.M.C.A. and a vin rouge joint. Besides the Frogs do not know how to make anything but trouble. French knives costing $2 with a wood handle and one blade won’t cut butter. The blade would either break or bend if the butter was at all hard.

I have written to a French boy at Grenoble for the name of the knife co. there. Of course all they have made there is shells for some years but they are a big company and will no doubt be on the market soon. I shall also write Uncle George West or Robt. Gartshore soon. If I go through England I will keep my eyes open and send the address on to you for Mr. Thompson.

We drill one hour each day now and sleep the rest of the time. They issue cigarettes and chocolate creams also. Pretty swell. You see we are now in the S.O.S. which means Source of Supplies. All noncombatant outfits and Military Police are in the S.O.S. all the time and got those luxuries all the time, while we got nothing and did “the part that counts.” We are in the S.O.S. now because we are ordered home.

Eight sergeants drilled against eight corpls today and the judges said that we beat them.

We are to have eggs for breakfast. They cost about 120 a dozen over here and we bought 40 dozen with company money.

The Y Man is packing up his stuff tonight and everything is ready for our departure.

Your loving son

Robert

Sounds like Robert’s father, John, was dissatisfied with his own job and looking for another range manufacturer to sell for - or another product line entirely.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Mother

[mndoughboy1918]

Rawyards, Stanrigg and the Road Not Taken

Nothing from Robert today; I just want to use this space to capture some words and images I found relating to some of Robert’s and my ancestors. 

Robert’s paternal grandparents were Robert Donald West (his namesake) and Ann Paterson. In 1841, Ann was a teenager living with her family in Rawyards - a place that always seemed creepy and/or horrible to me, just from the name. Ann’s father, John Paterson, was a miner, as were many of their neighbors.

Here’s Rawyards as of 1860 or so:

And this is from the Glasgow Herald in 1875; a reporter took a walking tour of the area and had this to say:

Let us now go to Rawyards, which may be said to be a suburb of Airdrie. Rawyards is a big and apparently flourishing village, with a mixed class of houses and a corresponding diversity of population. There is a large factory in the place, to which crowds of young women were trooping during the breakfast hour, when I happened to be there. At the end of the village is Baird Square, a mining settlement owned by various proprietors. Here there are two rows, belonging to Dr Robertson, which are quite as miserable as those already described. They are single apartments, lighted from one side only, with earthen floors patched with pieces of wood, and are all terribly out of repair. The earthen floors are broken up into a series of watery holes, some of which the tenants have filled up with clay and mud from the street Everything is untidy inside and outside. The ashpits and closets are filthy in the extreme, and the road in front of the houses is a dirty puddle. A good deal of overcrowding exists in these rows. In two of the single apartments which I entered there are eight of a family. The rent is 7s a-month. I was informed that Dr Robertson became the proprietor of the houses two years ago, and before that time they were held for 2s a-month, which, I take leave to say, is their full commercial value. In Black's Place, also at Rawyards, I found single apartments rented at 5s a-month, which, relatively to Dr Robertson's, are worth 12s a-month. The sanitary condition of Black's Place, and indeed of all this portion of the village, is highly objectionable. 

And then there’s this disturbing coincidence. On July 9, 1918, while Robert and the 140th waited in Saulxures-sur-Moselotte for their turn in the trenches, 19 Scottish miners - some of them as young as 14 - were buried alive in a coal mine less than two miles from Rawyards. One of the victims was a 17-year-old boy who lived in Baird Square in Rawyards - potentially near where Robert’s grandmother lived 70 years earlier. It’s easy to imagine Robert in that mine, had his family not left Scotland for America.

Now known as the Stanrigg disaster, the tragedy is still well known in Scotland and was only one of many such mining accidents. 

Here’s Rawyards today; Black Street and Airdriehill Street are still there; most of the other roads have been renamed. And, fortunately for everyone involved, the old Baird Square apartments are long gone.

Next: Letter to Dad

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Dad

March 1, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s father:

Dear Dad

Your letter of Feb. 2 came today. It was delayed some as you did not put the Co. on it.

We are being deloused now and expect to be out of this town within a week and out of France inside of a month. 

I got a nice box from Uncle Geo. and Aunt Teenie West today. That is the second I have received from them. The three day leaves that you spoke of have been cancelled. No one from the 35th ever had a chance to take advantage. I applied for a special furlough but it did not go through, so I guess I won’t be able to go to Scotland. My trip would be just twice as nice if I could have gone to see my relatives. They have sent me altogether a dozen boxes. The only one in B Co. to get boxes. Only soldiers who have homes in Europe can be mustered out here, so I am out of luck there too. The 2-day passes would not permit leave out of France.

You will be surprised when you see my boy. When he was four months old he had two teeth and weighed 16 pounds. I suppose he is heavier than Teddy because Elinore has been able to nurse him and Jane has not.

Your suggestion about the furniture business appeals to me strongly. The only thing is that I have a family to support and might not be able to earn enough to support my family on while learning something about the business. That kind of business appeals to me though and I could put up with most anything for a time. It is good of you to be thinking of me that way, I had not thought of furniture. Let’s keep that in mind until I get back.

Since I am not to go to Germany, Bolshevism does not interest me as much as before. I still have my work here tho. There might be Bolshevic or German influence in the A.E.F. 

Your second Digest came today.

The weather is fine today. It is not raining for a wonder. 

So far I have not been able to locate an appropriate souvenir for Mother. I see a lot of nice “real Frenchie”things but they are usually “made in USA.” Especially silk and linen + lace stuff.

I am anxious to know whether Elinore + I can have the little cottage at Rebecca for a few weeks. I am planning on that a lot.

The big de-cootieizing machine just pulled into town now.

Love to all, Rob.

Robert and his father seem to be birds of a feather. As you go through these letters, Robert goes on and on about how he doesn’t want to think about his future career yet, but keeps bringing it up. And his father says he doesn’t need to worry about a job yet, but seems to be mentioning it frequently. Today’s “maybe you should sell furniture” is the perfect example.

Here’s a delousing machine from the era:

And a video of them being loaded and unloaded (WARNING: brief rear nudity at the end!)

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Rawyards, Stanrigg and the Road Not Taken

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Dad

February 27, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s father:

Dear Dad,

Your letter of Feb. 9th came today. I know that I should not try to answer today cause I feel pretty bum. They keep stalling along about why we don’t move. We are now in the S.O.S. and consequently don’t have to drill. All we do is walk about 5 kilos a day. Oh I guess we are on our way but a day seems a week now.

I got the Digest which you sent but have not had time to read it yet.

There is no news, we just eat + wait until bed time and then do the same all over the next day. It rains as much as usual or more.

There are rumors about leaving for Le Mans but there always have been rumors and there always will be in the army.

I met Elinore’s brother Sunday. He is in the signal battalion of this division. 

Your letters are always very encouraging and I have enjoyed them very much. I do not worry about anything except I want to get Elinore away from home. Her old man is one of those close German Square Heads and I imagine he begrudges every mouthful of food Elinore eats, and I hear that he has a lot of money saved up and salted away somewhere. You know how tight lots of those dutch men are.

I got a nice letter from W.R. Nicol the other day.

I will not be able to go to see Aunt Aggie and Scotland and I am very sorry. I wrote her to stop sending me boxes. I shall miss them very much.

They say that we will sail April 25th from Le Mans.

I wrote to Gilbert yesterday but will have no chance to see him since we are leaving so soon.

I feel fine and I hope you are all as well as usual.

Love to all, Rob.

Wow, Robert was a little cranky today! And off to a bad start with his father in law, too. Not sure why he keeps saying they will sail home from Le Mans, which is about 100 miles from the western coast of France. They will spend a few weeks in Le Mans before heading home, though.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Dad

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Mother

February 26, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s mother:

Dear Mother,

I would not have written home tonight but I have a bit of news. The papers say that the divisions will go home in the order that they came over.  That means that we will go home sixth. That will be the first part of April. I hope to be mustered out by my birthday if possible. Then if I can have the “little green cottage” at Rebecca I’ll be “sitting pretty” as they say in the army. 

Had my squad on detail all day today. Dug a latrine, hauled two carts of water from the next town, hauled rations + wood + coal. To make it worse it rained all day as usual.

Have not had much mail lately so have nothing to answer.

I took a bath today too. The water got cold just when I got well soaped up. One private took a bath yesterday and found to his surprise that he had three old suits of underwear on under the dirt. But all winter I have managed to get one good shower a week.

We fry potatoes nearly every night in the billet.

Your loving son, Rob.

I keep meaning to go back and count the number of times Robert has asked his mother and father about “the little green cottage.” The fact that they haven’t said “yes” yet just can’t be a good sign.

I’m pretty sure I have pictures of Robert, Elinore and Bob Jr. at the lake shortly after he got home, though.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Dad

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Mother

February 22, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s mother:

Dear Mother,

Your letter of Jan 26 came today. And I was very glad to get it.

You seem to hate to sell the house at 1898. If Ruth is away at school next year and Jane starts housekeeping and Dad on the road, you will be left all alone. Of course it will be lonesome for you at the lake alone too, but I’d sell it if I were you. It costs so much to keep up. After Elinore + I get settled you can come + live with us but I don’t want you to spoil my boy. They say that grandmothers spoil children because they love them so much. If we live in Minnesota Dad could board with us over Sundays too.

Elinore gets her allotments regularly every month. I give her $20.00 and she gets $15.00 from the gov’t and $10.00 for Bob jr. Why doesn’t Jane write to the department that sends the money + notify them.

I think the change would be good for Elinore if she wants to go to Mrs. Wellington’s. She has not said whether she will go or not.

Swift + Co. have written me several times that my job is waiting for me when ever I want it, but I would rather not go on the road if I can find anything else. I am not thinking about work now but rest. That is what I want for a couple of weeks at least. I want the little green cottage if you will let us have it.

I wrote you a long time ago that I got your box from Scotland. It was awfully good of you Mother dear to think of me like that. I nearly cried. And Aunt Aggie picked out the things that I like too, including a plumb pudding. It nearly made me homesick.

I am glad that you have not taken the “flu.” I haven’t had it either. I see they have found the man that started the “flu.” He was a brick layer. (joke)

Thanks for the clippings. I am always glad to get them. I got a nice letter from Helen today + one from Bess.

Elinore’s brother is near here. I am going to look him up tomorrow. He is in the Signal Co. A wireless operator. She has another in Germany and a third at the Great Lakes Training Station and the fourth in the Home Guards. That’s a good record for a German father isn’t it? All four boys in the Army.

There is a show tonight but I am not going.

The Frogs have a lot of stuff to cheat us Yanks on but I hate to buy them. A little worthless cheap silk handkerchief costs a dollar. That is why I have never sent you anything before now. I have not sent Elinore anything either, but I will look around Saturday for something real French for you. I don’t care if it costs a couple months pay. If I get something you don’t like don’t blame me cause I am not much of a souvenir collector.

Your loving son,

Rob

Here’s Elinore’s brother Herbert, arriving home safely in April 1919:

Here’s Alfred, arriving a day earlier:

The Minnesota Home Guard was a volunteer organization created during the war to fill the gap left when the Minnesota National Guard was federalized. While the organization did do some good, including relief efforts following natural disasters, it also seems clear that the group was used by politicians and businesses to further their political and anti-labor objectives. 

To be honest, I can’t figure out which of Elinore’s brothers could have been in the Home Guards or at the Great Lakes Training Station. After Herbert and Alfred, it seems like the others would have been too young. Edward was a Marine, but did not enlist until 1922.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Mother

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Dad

February 21, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s father:

Dear Dad

It has been some time since I have written to you, because there is no news.

We have been having a lot of inspections for cooties, or anything else. There seems to be some mistake about disease among the people at home. There is very little anywhere as far as I know. No one will be allowed to go home with a disease, and I feel sure that every man in B Co. will go home together. General Pershing said when he reviewed us the other day that the records showed that the 35th was unusually clean. And so I take it that the rest of the A.E.F. is just as clean, except perhaps those from New York. They are the sorriest soldiers in the world.

B Co. lost the competitive drill to the 137th Regiment. We would have liked to have won it for the sake of Captain Ware.

The cooks got good this morning and made hot cakes and put them out just as long as we wanted them. I had five and I herd some say they had twenty four. 

The first platoon will have to pay 600 Francs damages when we leave here because someone threw some tin cans in the old man’s hay and some more out the window into the “frog’s” garden. They know that the Army pays all claims without dispute so they grasp the opportunity to stick us hard. That will only cost us each about $5.00 but it should be only about 5 cents.

Everything looks as though we were going home. We have not got any horses left. The Engineers have gone to the coast, we have been inspected by Pershing’s staff, have only mobile equipment, are de-cootieizing and a lot of other things, but it takes a long time to move a division now. When the war was on they could move five divisions in a night but now, I guess they don’t care much. Always say they can’t get cars or something else.

I am not making any plans for the future now. I merely want to rest for a few weeks if I can get the cottage at Lake Rebecca this summer.

Bess says she hopes that you + Mother will sell the house at 1898 so that Mother won’t have to live in town all alone. She said she supposed Hellen + Ruth would be at Winona and Jane back to Hinckley. But would Mother not be alone if you sold the house and lived at the Lake.

I am following your advice and am not thinking about what I will do when I get back. I guess I can make a living. I always could before.

I wrote Mother all the news so I must quit. No doubt you will read her letter. Your loving son Rob.

No surprise that there were fears at home about soldiers returning with a variety of exotic contagious diseases. It’s important to remember that the country was still recovering from the flu outbreak that killed more than half a million people in the US and an estimated 50 million worldwide.

If I remember correctly, Robert has expressed his dislike for the British, the French, and (of course) the Germans, not to mention Texans and now New Yorkers. He’s a little extreme, but I can say he is correct that Minnesotans truly are the best people in the world. 

Where was Robert today? See the timeline. 

Next: Letter to Mother

[mndoughboy1918]

Pershing and the Prince

No specific diary entry or letter on this, but it’s worth commemorating the day on which General John “Black Jack” Pershing, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, paid a visit for an extensive review of the 35th Division. Robert mentioned it in his summary of the last few months in France:

Passed in Review before Gen. Pershing and the Prince of Wales.

Here’s Chaplain Edwards in From Doniphan to Verdun with the details:

On February 18th, Monday, the division was reviewed by General Pershing, accompanied by the Prince of Wales. It made a fine showing, although it marched and stood in mud and water. General Pershing went through the whole Division, and the Prince jumped ditches with him. Some excellent photographs were taken. 

It was about 12:45 p. m. when the limousine containing General Pershing and staff reached the reviewing field. Leaving the limousine, the reviewing party changed to horses and came across the field, when the command -'Present Arms!" was smartly snapped out to the 25,000 men. General Pershing personally inspected each platoon. To do this effectively it was necessary for him to walk 7-1/2 miles in and out of the various ranks and lines. On the completion of the inspection, the Division was passed in review. Brigadier-General Dugan, accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel A. F. McLean, acting Chief of Staff, headed the Division. 

The 25,000 men marching at one time in the field was most impressive. At this time the sun began to peep over the hills beyond, and soon the ground glistened with its various puddles lit up by the first sunshine in four days. 

All the officers were assembled and addressed by General Pershing, who complimented them on their showing in the Argonne Forest, where they took practically inaccessible positions. 

The Prince of Wales highly complimented the Division, saying that he had watched this Division with great interest, as it was one of those to train with the English. 

As the reviewing party were leaving the field, an amusing incident occurred. A guide taking them from the field toward the road where the limousines were parked endeavored to take a short cut and in so doing led them to a brook about four feet wide. General Pershing said, "looks as though we will have to jump." "All right, let's go," replied the Prince of Wales, and over he jumped, followed by General Pershing. An orderly, following miscalculated the jump and landed in the stream. He was fished out amid cheers.

As luck would have it, the event was filmed by the Army’s Motion Picture Division and the footage, along with some of the supporting documentation, has survived.

The footage with Pershing and the Prince of Wales is at the very end of this video, at the 28:37 mark.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.

Next: Letter to Dad

[mndoughboy1918]

Letter to Jane

February 16, 1919 - Letter to Robert’s sister:

Dear Jane,

Well if everything goes well we will all be home in a little while, but if the Huns think they want some more war we might be delayed a few months more or less.

Elinore said in one letter that she might go to visit Mrs. Wellington. If she does be sure and call her up and see her. You and she might go to a show once in a while. You know “misery loves company.” Time will pass faster for both of you if you get out once in a while. I have told Elinore to go to shows but I guess she doesn’t get out enough. I advised her to go to Wellingtons just for the change. Another thing, she wants to save money, and I don’t want her to.She only gets 45 dollars a month and surely she should spend it. The mental effect would be better than if she tried to save don’t you think so? i want you to see my boy just to find out what you think of him.

I have not heard from Gilbert. I guess he does not know my organization, and I don’t know his, so I can’t write to him either. 

The 35th is ordered home but it takes a long time to move all our stuff. We hae turned in all of our horses and wagons to the 33rd and 5th Divisions who are occupation troops.

Had hot cakes for breakfast, hamburger for dinner and ham for supper. The first ham I have eaten over here. But army food has army taste adn I shall be truly glad when I am out of it.

Hoping you + baby are well, your loving brother Rob.

As mentioned previously, Jane’s husband Gilbert Nelson was also in France, and their son Edward had been born in May 1918. Robert was probably right that Elinore and Jane could have been a comfort to each other.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline. 

Next: Pershing and the Prince