John L. Barkley letter to Friend - March 4, 1919
Transcript
Coblenz Germany March 4 1919. My dear friend. I am writing you a little story of an unlucky man whoes name will be signed later at the bottom of the page. On September 19th uncle Sam came threw my window with a terrible Draft which sent me whirling into the army or into a training camp at Camp Funston Kansas. I sure was some soldier when I landed there, hump backed weight 125 height 5 ft 4 inches. Now I have been in the army 1 year and a half weigh 165 heigh 5ft, 7 ½
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[page 2] and am somewhat straighter than I was. Here at Camp Funston I trained six months, drilling eight hours per day, falling out at night for five drill March 15th I was transfered to [Newport News, Virginia] to the third division where on April 6 sailed on the Great Northern for Brest France. We had many a seasick soldier before we landed it took us just nine days to come across. Our ship sure was a fast baby 33 knots per hour but our escort was slow. We did not see any submarines but earley one morning one of our sharp eyed gunners
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[page 3] speed a flooting fury. Taking no chances at a fixed range of five miles he sunk the target the first shot. I understand on the boat three behind us our gunners sure had it out right with three submarines which all thre went to the bottom. I was transfered from Brest to Sexfontain where we were trained three months ten and twelve hours per day. I was transfered into the scouts as an observer. My main buisnes was to do no fighting but watch the boche of every thing they did from a heigh point.
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[page 4] June 25 we packed up our packs and started for the front. We were told that the Boche wa comming to Paris and the 3 division was going to stop them. We landed at Chateau [Thierry] July 1 comming in hearing distance of a terrible battle going on machine guns popping and the French artillery firing like machine guns. We were doing a force march tword this battle with gas mask at the alert position. Just 1 hour later our machine gunners took position on a bridge across the Mason river.
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[page 5] The Boche started across the bridge and then a sad story starts. our machine guns opened up and the Dutchman started across in column of squads, piles and piles of huns lay in heaps upon the bridge, up came the Boche in trucks and started across the ded upon the bridge but the trucks stalled on the mases of ded bodies about five trucks were blockaded on the bridge when one of our artillery men took a shot at the bridge hitting
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[page 6] the bridge in the center with a terrible explosion all men ded wounded trucks and all crashed into river. This stopped the attack untill July 15 when they started to Paris and the old third division met the Prussian guards at the river bank where they built pontoons in spite of our artillery bayonette snipper and grenade thrown fighting and working was sure some job in face of the American machine gun fire. In the town of Chateau [Thierry] from out windows church steeples factory windows
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[page 7] blazed the Boche machine gun sweeping every foot of ground which they had a good field of fire. I have layed on my belly in a rock pile which mached my uniform and maid many of a hun hang his hed out of the window over his machine gun like a shot squirrels. We drove the Huns back and straightened the line up and showed the Frenchman that we was not weaklings and showed the Boche that when they cut the hearts out of an american soldier and hung him to a tree it still did not get our moral.
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[page 8] 29 of July we were relieved went back near Bareleduce France where we went to drilling for the big drive at [St. Mihiel] where we surprised the boche and played the artillery and gass machine gun fire and a whoop and a yell which threw the Boche from the trenches where they had been fighting for four years. Then we started for Verdun. [September] the 4th we went into the Boche again where three other division had been defeated and whipped the Boche into signing the Armistices
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[page 9] yes I was drafted but I did not lay at some large town in the S.O.S. the first to get all the good eats sleeping in a fine bed while us boys are going over the top wading in blood ankle deep then they are the first to home and Queer every thing and tell how they went over the top, look and see if the man wears a wound shevern or aske him how many hills he help to take! And those poor destrend boys wearing the silver silver sheveron who hand-shook with their captain to keep from comming and then
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[page 10] now they are sore because they did not get to come. I will get some of them who ought to be wearing one silver sheveron will be wearing five service stripes and two wound sheverons. When uncle san says "here John here is your discharge papers I will say "yess here is the paper I have traveled and fought all over Europe for, and now I will once again hammer the mules on the back for dear old dad Answer real soon John L. Barkley. Co K 4 inft
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This is just one eight of my troubles in France.
Details
| Title | John L. Barkley letter to Friend - March 4, 1919 |
| Creator | Barkley, John Lewis |
| Source | Barkley, John L. Letter to Friend. 4 March 1919. John Lewis Barkley Collection, 1917-1919. 1996.33. The National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Missouri. |
| Description | In a letter dated March 4, 1919, John L. Barkley wrote his friend concerning his movement with the army from his draft in September 1917, to training at Camp Funston and his overseas experiences at Chateau-Thierry, St. Mihiel and Verdun. |
| Subject LCSH | United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 4th; United States. Army. Division, 3rd; Château-Thierry, Battle of, Château-Thierry, France, 1918; Military training |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; Army of Occupation |
| Site Accession Number | 1996.33 |
| Contributing Institution | National World War I Museum and Memorial |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the National World War I Museum and Memorial: (816) 888-8100. |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Date Original | March 4, 1919 |
| Language | English |