The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1919-01-23
':Lstter. From, Our Boys"
Letter from Ed. eassingwaite
Steinsel, Grand Duchy
of Luxemburg. Nov. Is. 1918


Steinsel, Grand Duchy
of Luxembourg, Nov. Is, 1918.
Dear Dad: Well. now that the big
scrap is all over but the shouting,
the censorship has been reduced to
practically nil, and can tell you
some things you have been wanting
to know for so long.
the 41st division. We embarked at
Hoboken on December 18th, laid in
the harbor for two days, sailing on
the 14th. We zigzagged so much and
laid around for two whole days. so
that we did not reach land until the
9th or 28th laying in the harbor at
Brest, France, until the 31st, when we
disembarked. We came over on the
Covington, which was sunk on a re-
turn trip last July. think l men,
toned it in one of my letters at the
time it was sunk. The President
Lincoln, which was sunk some time
before that, was in our convoy CON-
ing over also.
We got into box cars as soon as
we landed and started on our way.
That New Years eve was one that
none of us will ever forget. Packed
40 men in one of these dinky, little
cars, and colder than 40 degrees be-
low Point st. Ignace. We were two
RI n hfc fh4 %1,n
sleep We got was practically none at
all.
We pulled into LaCourtine and
were there for about three weeks
when we got another box car ride to
Gondrecourt However, after our ex-
periences on that first trip, the Sec
ond one was a snap.
When our division landed it was
broken up into replacement division
and when we arrived at Gondrecourt
We were attached to the First Corps
School. We were there from the
latter part of January until about the
first of June. We had it pretty tough
when we first hit there, cold, snow
and rain, and we were billeted in
barns, haymows. and chicken coops.
Rations were hard to get, and we
didn't have any Waldorf-Astoria fare
for awhile, believe me.
While we didn't have any drill at
first. we had plenty of work, as they
used to send in for details
for engineer work and every other
kind of work, so we dug bitches, built
roads, etc. for while. Incidentally.
all the time We were there. we had
to furnish detail every day to police
the streets. Imagine muh whom all
my girl correspondents pictured as
dashing madly into the thick of
battle, welding push-broom on the
streets of some French village.
However, before we left Gondre-
court, we were relieved from the hard
work and got back to drill again, got
our billets fixed up with stoves and
hunks, and we're drawing plenty of
rations, SO we were doing fine. We
got our transportation there, IL G..
M. G. ambulances, 8 Indian motor
cycles and three 3-ton Packard
trucks, and received orders to move
again, being designated as corps
troops of the First Army Corps,
From Gondrecourt, which is in the
Department (state) of Meuse, we
went to the Vosges Mountains where
we spent the summer. We were
stationed first at Vienville, then at
st. Die, Rambervillers. Merviller and
then at Gerardmer, where we were
until few weeks ago. When we hit
the Vosges' our ambulances were put
to work and have been on the go
ever since. Things were very quiet
in the vosges sector and while our
ambulances were busy all the time,
we haven't had any casualties in the
company. Those who weren't on the
cars as orderlies or drivers didn't
get up to the front at all except once
when we were in dressing stations
for about a week. happened to be
on kitchen detail at the time. SO was
one of the few who stayed in Gerard
mer.
While in the Vosges, we were at
tached to several different divisions.
When one moved to another sector,
we would be attached to the next
one that came in. We were with the
5th, 35th, 9th. 18th and 9Th divis-
ions. When the 9Th moved out no
new American division came in so
we moved with them, and knew we
were headed for big action at last.
They used to put troops that had just
come over in the Vosges sector in
order to break them in on a quiet
front before sending them up to the
big push.
Some time before we left Gerard
mer I was put on an ambulance as
orderly and up to the time we left
our machine was carrying patients
from the hospital there to the base
hospital at Vittel, q run of about go
miles. That sure was a fine run. 1t
was coming back from Vittel one