The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1919-01-16

To-day is Fathers Day, so will try
and do my best to write you a good
letter. | will try and write a brief out
line of my army life.
ION May 3, 1917, / enlisted in the
signal reserve corps. June 20, 1917,
our battalion, then the Sth telegraph,
was ordered to entrain at Monterey,
Cal, for training. After seven months
of training, Jan. %, 1913, we received
orders to move. Our equipment con-
sisted of lance poles, wire climbing
tools and other working tools, "a Nash
trucks, "A Harley Davidson motOrcyc-
les, 3 Cadillac touring cars. The motor
equipment with detail of men, were
sent overland to New Jersey. The re-
mainder of the battalion boarded the
steamship, Great Northern, and sailed
from San Francisco on Jan. "a, at 5 80
p. m., arriving in Balboa on Jan. 81.
After two days at Panama we started
our journey through the canal, arriving
at Colon, an Atlantic port, on the even
ing of the same day. On Feb. 4 we
sighted the island of Cuba. We arrived
in Charleston, n. c., on Feb. 6, dis
charging 400 informed German prison
crs of war, and leaving on the 18th. On
the 9th we sighted the Goddess of Lib
erty, and on Feb. 10th we locked at
Hoboken, discriminating for Camp Mer-
ritt New Jersey. Feb. Is we left Camp
Merritt to embark for France. At 10
o'clock on the 18th we boarded the
steamer Covington, leaving the ship on
March 4, at Brest France. After dis
embarking we marched to Napoleon
barracks, Quilt by him in 1S70.) Aft
er Il brief stay we took train for st.
Nazaire. (Get map of France.) We
worked in that part of the country
building standard telephone lines, for
about three months. Finishing there
we left by truck for Versailles (near
Paris). After 9 weeks rest there we
left for st. Germain-enLaye We stay.
ed there until July 10, spending the
/ Fourth of July and the Fall of the
| Bastile i'll Paris. On the 18th we left
| for Brie, where we worked for couple
of weeks. From here we went to the
zone OF advance working in the Cha
teau-Thierry. Leaving ChateauThier
ry we went to COlombey, and after a
brief stay there we went to Toul (quite
large city,. where we worked for q
week. We left this place for Void and
leaving there we went up and were ac
RE in the ST. Mihiel drive Leaving
there we went to n small town called
LemmeS, near Verdun. On September
26 we left Lemmes and were active OF
the entire drive on the northwest Yer
dun front. The battle of the Argonnt
the last and the greatest battle in the
worlds history, rs the infantry advanc
ed we followed lose behind occupying
the following towns on the way: Rece
court, AvacOurt, MountfaucOn, Very
Iyry, Epionville, ROMANCE, Gesnes
Burzancy, Stenay. | was in GesneS
when the ammiStice was signed. Tht
last great drive was just above Stenay
close to tie country of Luxembourg
near to the German border. LuXem
burg was taken the same as was Bel
guim, 10y military force. At Buzanc!
we were called back-Nov l. ITO tn,
service of supply. We are now in Yer
dun, a fine city in its day but at pres
ent it IS all shot to -. In a few
days we expect to leave for southern
France. hoping to get home real soon
Well, Dad. | have written all my pa
thence will permit; l hope it interest
YOU"