World
War 1
Permission to post this article was granted by Mr. Mike Jones,
City Editor of the Centralia Sentinel on Friday, Sept. 19, 1997
Pvt. Sam Farthing Thursday, February 13, 1919
Centralia (Ill.) Evening Sentinel S.W. (sic)
Farthing Writes of His 18 Months Service in the
Army
The interesting letter which follows was written by Samuel Farthing to
the Sentinel and is a very good descriptive story of his life in the
army. Private Farthing is at present at Camp Grant, Ill., waiting to be
mustered out after his eighteen months of service.
* * *
"On September 18th I started to train with the U.S. Army at Camp Taylor,
Ky.
During the four months of my stay there I learned the principles of
army life and my first lessons in military discipline. On December 14 I
was transferred to Camp Pike, Ark., ad entered the 346th Infantry,
Company E, where I learned to be a modern doughboy, and lived six months
of good and
enjoyable army life, among good fellows. I spent my time in
the Infantry in a way I can hardly recall to mind. On June 24th I was
assigned to the 312 Military Police. I regretted leaving my friends and
especially my
chum, although I soon made friends with the new company of
men. We were all men from Infantry Artillery and a few other branches of
services. I didn't like the drills, or some of the other company rules at
first but
soon became familiar with my new assignment. My few weeks in
Camp Pike were spent in preparing to move to Camp Dix, N.J. We were very
busy getting our
equipment packed. On bright morning in June we received
orders to move to Camp Dix where we were to receive full oversea
equipment.
"We arrived at Camp Dix on June 22nd. Our short stay there was very
delightful as the camp is located in a very fine section of country, only
a few miles
from Trenton. We were given passes to all of the cities close
by.
"On August 23rd we received our orders for overseas. We were sure glad
to get the
news and were soon sailing across to become members of the
most highly respected army that ever existed, the A.E.F.
"We were on the English ship the 'Pyrhus' eleven days. They were the
most
thrilling days I ever dreamed of. The sixth night out our convoy was
divided owing to the intense fog. We sailed for 24 hours before we met
them again.
"We didn't get to see a sub all the way over, and got along fine the
remainder of the voyage.
"On September 7th, we arose early to go out on deck and get our first
view of the
old world. We could see the northern coast of Ireland in the
distance. We sure were a glad bunch of doughboys then.
"We sailed through the North Sea all day the 7th until the morning of
the 8th, when we
docked at Liverpool, England. We were soon out of the
tub which had become so monotonous at times. We were then loaded in cars,
packed in like
sardines. The next morning found us in Manchester and from
there we marched about five miles before arriving in camp. This place was
supposed to be a rest camp but our rest consisted of washing our dirty
clothes for our journey to France. On the morning of the ninth we boarded
the cars
for Southampton, from where we sailed for France on the U.S.S.
'Harvard.' She gave us a very rough reception on this occasion. About one
half
of the boys became seasick in those few hours spent crossing the
English Channel. It was on the 11th that we arrived at LeHavre, a very
fine city, the third largest in France. We were given a glad welcome by
the population.
The girls showered us with flowers as we marched through
the streets. Others waved and shouted 'Vive La Sammies.' We marched
another five miles to another supposed to be rest camp. There we piled up
in squad tents only we occupied them to one and a half times their
capacity. And to make our early morning more exciting the German airmen
came
over and made us take to the trenches. It was our first, and my
only, time in an air raid.
"We saw our first Huns there in a prison camp. We all gathered around
them to
size them up and form an opinion of them, before we entered the
ring with them. From there on things began to look a little more like
war. Some of the implements were camouflaged. It was the first of this we
had seen.
"On the morning of the 12th we marched back to LeHavre and were again
packed in those
funny little cracker boxes the French supplied. They were
marked on the sides eight horses or thirty men, but when we got thirty in
our car there was only
standing room. We spent 36 hours on those cars. We
finally stopped at Pous, a small town of about 6,000 (before the war).
The people in this town were very poor until pay day. Then they were more
prosperous
than they had been for 4 years. We were quartered in an old
castle which had been a historic land mark for several centuries. It was
114
feet high, and one could see for miles from the top of it. We spent
three months training there. We were sent to a military school several
miles back of the lines where we were given instructions on the duties of
an M.P. in the front lines.
"I was only with my company three days until I met with an accident
which
sent me to the hospital. I regretted very much having to leave my
organization. From then on I wasn't on duty owing to my injured left
hand. On January 10th I took the 'Mada Washa' for the States. We had a
very fine voyage coming home over a southern route. We landed in Newport
News the 23rd. We were
taken down the river to the Old Soldiers' Home at
Hampton, Virginia. We spent 10 very pleasant days there.
"They gave us good eats. Two band concerts daily, a show every night and
our quarters were
very fine. We had the opportunity to visit Newport, Old
Point Comfort and all the other places of interest near them. I was later
sent to Camp
Grant to await my discharge papers. During the last eighteen
months I have had the opportunity of seeing a great deal of the world, of
which experience, with all of its hardship, no money could buy."
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