Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-06-04
THE A. F. F. AND WHAT 1T DID
Letter from Lieut.. Donald A. Thomas
Of Milbank, N. d.
France, on Board the A. L. +. Press
Special.

Dear All:
This party, | might explain at the
outset is the second of three which
are scheduled, each consisting OF
about POO men. The first vas made
up from embarkation centers. Ours
as you may Surmise, contains men in
the S. o. S. The third will be COM
posed of men from the Army of Oc'
cnupation.
The trip logically begins with a
tour of the great establishments in
the S. o. S. which furnished the sup
plies to the armies, then to the army
zone and finally to the Rhine. The
itinerary includes Brest, the big en-
barkation center, St. Nazaire with its
accompanying big depot at Montair
Bordeaux, and the American built
docks at Bassons and the depot at ST.
Sulpire, the great intermediate depot
at Gierres, General headquarters at
Chamont, where staff officers will tell
us of the plans and administration OF
the army, Chateau Thierly, st. Mihiel
and Meuse-Argonne battle fields, and
the Rhine country.
When l got up this morning we
were slipping along through the beau
tiful hills and valleys of Brittany. At
one moment all rushed to the windows
to look in delight as 81 passed over
high trestle that joins two hills, a
hundred feet or more above the
quaint, rcd-topped houses of the lit
tie village in the valley below. Short
ly before 800 o'clock the train emerg-
ed from rock cut and skirted the
high cliff that partly surrounds the
bay and the city of Brest and from
this vantage point we were privileged
to look at the wonderful panorama
that the harbor presented. Would to
goodness could stop and describe, in
detail, all that l have seen but that is
impossible. l am sending you cards
and | have my camera along, the
views from which will follow later.
The rest must wait till come home.
We left the train at 500 and had
the whole party got into waiting auto
mobiles and WAS whisked away to the
docks, where, as we passed along, a
bunch of the 32nd division, Michigan
and Wisconsin troops aboard.
From the docks we followed the
shore road for time then turned in
land and at length found ourselves at
Camp P6ntanezan, which is the Brest
camp which you have read so much
about Camp Pontanazan in the past,
it is Without doubt one of the best
camps in the A. e. F. now. Also it is
the largest camp in the world. Its
average population is about 10000
men of which $1,000 comprise the OPP
Grating and construction personnel
and $4,000 are the transient troops
which come here to wait embarkatiOn.
The camp has $50 barracks, each hold
ing 40 men, and 5000 fioored tents,
Is feet square, which cover acres
upon acres. Each soldier is provided
with bed, mattress and five blankets
and all tents and barracks are heated.
There are II great kitchens with their
accompanying mess halls, each of
which can feed 5000 men in an hour,
and on one occasion $500 men were
fed from one kitchen. The Y. M. c.
A. maintain big entertainment hut
seating 5000 and the Red Cross has
four huts and other activities one
hut each. Six recreation centers are
provided.
The criticism that was directed at
the camp undoubtedly has had the
effect of making it better place than
it would otherwise have been, and
doubt that the conditions merited all
the abuse that was heaped upon those
in control. If ever a man impresses
one as being man who has the in
terests of every soldier at heart, such
is Brig. Gen. Butler, who is in charge
of the camp. Conditions are undoub=
teddy bad when the difficulties were
the greatest. Brest is in a section
which receives rain 300 days of the
year. Naturally there was mud, too.
With the sudden cessation of hostilit-
les the camp yas called upon to hand
lie thousands of returning troops. En-
gineers labored day and night to pros
vide accommodations. Above all, the
effort was to get the troops back, and
I'll venture to wager that most of the
boys that went through, had they
been given their choice of passing
through the camp as it was or wait
ing till barracks were built before
going home, would have chosen the
former course. Happily now, how
ever, it is model place, and there is
absolutely no room for further critic
SIN.
Returning from the camp we stop
Jed at the "bathing plant a virtual
actory for bathing, inspecting and re-
quipping the men before they go on :,
BOARD the boat. Here in this great /,
building it is possible to put 120 men
Trough the required routine every .
our minutes. :
The Brattleboro school board has :
the engagement of Miss :