James Robert Davis letter to Mother and Others- October 22, 1918
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at sea - [October] 22 1918 - Dear Mother & Other - Istarted a letter this afternoon but didnt get far then had supper and there is a long evening before us. time seems longer at night because there are no lights out side not even a cigarette can be smoked on deck. Ive enjoyed the trip tho except for the lack of my glasses I broke a “glass” at [Camp Upton] and had no time to get to New York to have a new one made - Fortunately I havent had any head aches just a tired feeling thru the eyes - guess Iam pretty lucky. as soon as I land Iam going to try to get in touch with Prigmore. It certainly was
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thoughtless of me not to think about if before I left [Fort Riley] Isent you two packages from [Camp Upton] let me know if you got them one is cloths and the other is a little fur for you call it a Xmas present if you wish. Hope you like it. I’ll try to pick up a few things for the family while over here. unless my money runs out - I never realizes how easy it was to write a check and get money when you needed it until the last few days. Ido not mean by that that Ineed money for Ihave enough for a few weeks unless something happens to a pay check and it is held up.
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Ive had a good bunch of men to associate with on the boat - one from Sedalia [Missouri] by the name of May. who is a great friend of Prigmores and a very likeable fellow - also there is a boy on here from Slater by the name of Jones. as for health Iam feeling fine only I eat too much and do not get enough exercise. I’ve come to the conclusion that when Iget out of the army I’ll have to keep up my setting up exercises and I used to hate them on the cold morning at [Fort Riley] and always swore that when I returned to civil life
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there would be no more setting up exercise in my daily routine and eat why Ican even eat cake and drink tea. We have coffee brought to use every morning before we get up and tea in the afternoon, can you beat that, an English custom Isuppose. cant say that Icare for it, but I tried it any way. It has been interesting to study the Englishmen on board and compare them with Americans. One thing is sure they are more polite than Americans and they speak real “English” but they cant express themselves in as fun words as we can. I believe tho that I’ll like the English and can learn a lot from them. Their customs and manners are different but then they are an old race and we are not any way the
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U.S. is good enough for me and I’d sure like to see a little of it. Tho Iam not home sick and havent been since I left land - leaving land - with out saying good bye to any one was the hard part. If you wish you can take this letter to Mrs Lankford - I didn’t get to write to her and they will be glad to read it and then send it to the kids for Iam not goint to try to write to them - I will try tho to write to you each week. To come back to the sea - Mother it is wonderful but give me the mountains for real beauty and comfort. The mountains even in winter are friendly but this restless sea could never
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give me the feeling of rest and companionship that the mountains have. Saw some fish following the ship yesterday and we see seagulls every day. For several days we saw a lot of little birds looked some thing like our snow bird. They fly along over the water awhile and then come and rest on the ship. They disappeared one day just as suddenly as they came - suppose they beat it back to the U.S. while they going was good. guess Ive told you about everything - so I’ll stop and write a few lines to Claud Do hope you all keep well - and when you get the money from Silver pay James - and then use any of the rest you need - love to all Jim Lt. James R Davis 816 Pioneer Inf A.E.F. - Regard to Mr & Mrs Lankford Jim
Details
| Title | James Robert Davis letter to Mother and Others- October 22, 1918 |
| Creator | Davis, James Robert |
| Source | Davis, James Robert. Letter to Mother and Others. 22 October 1918. James Robert Davis Collection, 1918-1919. 1994.41. National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Missouri. |
| Description | James Robert Davis wrote this letter to his mother and other relatives on October 22, 1918. Davis wrote while on board a troop transport ship headed to Europe and discussed his daily activities. This letter was written on Y.M.C.A. letterhead. |
| Subject LCSH | World War, 1914-1918--Military life--United States; Camp Upton (N.Y.); Fort Riley (Kan.) |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; 816th Pioneer Infantry |
| Site Accession Number | 1994.41 |
| 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 | October 22, 1918 |
| Language | English |