The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1919-01-09
TWAS AN EXCITING
VOYAGE
Vivid Description of the Journey
Overseas a Year Ago
Last Month

4 When the 161st Field Hospital left
! Hoboken, N. j., for France, the cen
sorship was so strict that no details
of the trip yas allowed to be given
publicity. Now that the restrictions
have been greatly modified, "The Boy
tells of the experiences encountered.
1t is interesting reading:
i Dec. 15-This week has brought
fond (or otherwise) memories of the
past back to US boys at the hospital
here who were former members of the
161st Field Hospital, for it was just
a year ago that we left the United
States and embarked on our great
adventure to France. Little we
thought then that year hence peace
would be in sight and that President
Wilson was to visit France and de-
bark at the same port year later.
On December 10 last year we spent
our last night at Camp Mills. All the
barrack bags had been packed and
shipped, the ticks emptied Of straw,
packs rolled and ready to be put on,
and all we had to do was to wait un-
til o'clock the next morning, when
we were to start for France. 1t was
a terrible cold night, and as we had no
bed clothes to sleep in, it was up to
US to keep a hot fire in the stoves
in the tents and stick it out until
the rext morning. And we did keep
! a hot fire too, but the cold came
through the tent, so that when our
head was warm our feet were cold
and vice versa. Finally 4 o'clock
came, we were lined up, roll was called,
two boys were found missing and We
left Camp Mills, OF Champ Chills, as
we called it, for the train at Garden
City.
We had no sooner gotten on the
train than it pulled out. about the only
time during my. career IN the army
that a train has been ON time. We
got of the train ut Brooklyn just arI
daybreak, marched abont block, got
on ferry boat, had our first taste
of sea sickness, and in about an hour
reached the big warehouse at Ho-
boken, N j. Alongside the big ware
house was the big steamer Sowing
ton," the ship that brought US aerusa,
and on the other side of the CoTin1-
ton lay the "FatherlAnd. which ~ne
heard was to go in our convoy, bat
for some reason did not
It was bitter cold and zwe were
kept standing in the cold, cnidTw1re-
house for over three hours while NUM-
erous red tapes were unrolied- About
IL o'clock we were allowed to board
and were assigned to our berths.
unrolled my pack, got out my bed COW
ers and Immediately went TO sheep,
not awakening until dinner time at
4:30 p. m. After dinner went to bed
again and slept until the next morn
ing.
The next day no one was allowed
out of the compartment and about 8
O'Clock that night we pulled out of
the dock and anchored at the lower
end of the bay, where we remained
until the night of December 13, when |
we started on our journey, seven
transport ships and big battleship.
For five or six days the weather was
very cold, so cold that we couldn't en-
JOY ourselves the two hours that we
were allowed on deck But after the
fifth day we reached the warm wealth |
er of the south-some say near the
coast of South America, and for the
next four or five days it was so hot I
we nearly roasted with our heavy 1
underwear on, and some of the boys /
who took their shirts off had their
backs blistered by the heat. While
there, every ship in the convoy had
target practice, each ship shooting at
a target drawn about 80 feet behind
one of the other ships. 1t certainly
was very pleasant sight to see the
big battleship, about seven or eight
miles away fire, at very small target
about 80 feet behind the ship we were
on. We had grave misgivings for our
safety, for we didn't know whether
the shooter on the battleship was
rookey or an expert. But they pasted
the target at every shot and we soon
got over our fears and enjoyed the
practice, especially as the gun crew
on our boat carried off the honors
and beat the battleship crew.
We then entered the cold zone
again. Drills to abandon ship were
brought down to perfection. We were
ordered to sleep with our shoes on
and all day were compelled to carry
the life belt with US and nse it rs =
Continued to Pags y u