Thursday, October 4, 2018

Corp. Herman Gerdom Describes Life On Ship and Somewhere in France, 1918

“From Somewhere in America to Somewhere in France,” from The Enterprise, Williamston, Martin County, N.C., October 4, 1918

Written by Corporal Herman F. Gerdom, Co. F, 52nd Inft.

Hardly did we realize when we left home to answer our country’s call, that we would be somewhere in France long before the beautiful sow would give mother earth a coat of white, but we are here and making the best of it. Our experiences have been many—some of them very trying—but we have withstood the test and are as happy as a lark, trying to perform the mission that was placed in our hands. As all “Over There” are interested in the welfare of the boys “Over Here” and their experiences, I will try to relate some of mine after leaving our camp and enroute over the Atlantic Brook and then Somewhere in France. If I were to relate them in detail I could write for a week so I will relate the most interesting ones in brief. So here it goes.

After several weeks of good hard training at a southern camp the Regiment of which I am a member received the order to have the A.E.F. stamped on their Barrack bags and pack up their “Dudds” and get ready to make the trip across the Briny Deep or as you would say “Over There.” We started our long journey one beautiful Saturday morning about 8 o’clock and we sure felt like millionaires for we had very fine sleepers to travel in. The trip was full of interest and many spectacular sights were to be seen on our journey through 13 States. We stopped at several places to avail ourselves of that famous “Seventh Inning” stretch to loosen up the stiffened joints a trifle, by parading through the main thoroughfares. Wherever we went we were applauded to the utmost and every factory window and those in homes brought forth shouts of applause that made one soon realize that he was not in civil life anymore but in the army. To put the proper finish to this, we of course helped them along, but it did not take us long before we were thankful that we were in position to bring forth a whisper.

The Red Cross performed their part in a very admirable way and at almost every station we were served with hot Java, fruit, etc., and cigarettes were handed out in such numbers that the supply lasted until we got to the next station and these courtesies certainly proved to the boys that there was more to the Red Cross Organization than merely the name and began to realize where the money went that was donated to this noble cause, before they were fitted out in the uniform of the most popular design approved by Sam’s Fashion Center.

Finally after several days of traveling through tunnels and valleys, over hills and trestle work, we arrived at an eastern camp where we spent considerable time at all duties required of a soldier. The life at this camp was very agreeable in spite of some of the inconveniences, as it was not so terrible hot there as at the other camp. Again came the order to move, and equipped with a full field pack (it seemed to weight a ton) we gallantly started for the gang plank of the boat that was to take us across the Atlantic Creek. It was a funny sensation to see the land fade away and the old Goddess of Liberty did not even smile. The ship on which we traveled was not a regular passenger liner but a regular troop ship, and when it came to classes they never took the first, second and steerage into consideration and we were in about the 58th variety and had one on old Heinz of pickle fame but it was the largest ship in our little caravan and when it came to speed it did not lack any. The captain of the ship looked just like all the rest of them, heavy moustache, goatee and kinda fat, but the small boys aboard certainly amused me, for their lingo seemed so peculiar to me but it did not take us long to get wise to it. In spite of the congested conditions and poor ventilation and other conditions, we soon made up with them and before long we were again as happy as if we had our right sense. Heavy beams on the ceiling of the boat with plenty of hooks furnished the place for the hammocks to be strung from and it took regular acrobatic stunts to get into them and then it meant lay quiet or down you go hard on the floor. The first night I was lucky enough to draw a hammock, but the next night luck was against me and I received a mattress instead and made my bunk on the floor. Well, it was real comfortable, but the next morning to my surprise a beautiful pair of about No. 12 Hobnails were dangling in my face and it did not take me long to dodge the other hammocks and hike for the place where the waves often play cross tag, for fear that the rope of the hammock might break. The next night the “man above” had the heart to take off his hobnails and as he was ticklish under his hoofs it did not take me long to let him know that the place for his feet was upstairs.

The boys held up very well throughout the trip and only a few of them got seasick but those that did almost had to anchor their hobnails to the deck to prevent them from going overboard. One night while fast asleep and dreaming of days gone by, I was suddenly awakened by a bump on the chin, At first I thought a fish had kicked me, but when I looked around I found myself bleeding like a stuck hog and a beautiful steel helmet lying at my side, which had fallen from one of the racks above, while one of the boys was getting his overcoat for a cover. Well if this is all the bumps I get in this fray I will not complain, but I sure will remember that helmet.

After a long journey over the deep we finally landed at a European port and it was raining like sixty. Our Company Commander gave orders to put up a good front, as our “Rookie” days were over and we could show the people that we were real soldiers and were not allowed to talk or yell at any of the spectators. Well we did put up the front alright, but it sure was some job at that, for the heavy pack sure did make the face “leak” and the sweat just ran down our foreheads with poor chances of getting hold of our handkerchiefs as we were marching at “Attention.” Some kindhearted old lady saw me in my predicament and offered me her handkerchief, but I did not make the effort to get it and she finally put it on my arm. I certainly appreciated her efforts and was only sorry that her address was not included, so that I might be able to repay her for her kindness or at least send her a letter of thanks. Arriving at the railroad station and a bunch of girls singing “The Yanks Are Coming” in their peculiar ling, we sure did laugh, for when we saw those dinky little engines and cars we almost dropped, for they sure were only a drop in the bucket against those at home, but when it came to speed, they just sizzed along. At the next camp the real circus began and when we went to buy things, the old saying of “two bits” lost its popularity and it seemed funny to run around with a “pound” of money in our pocket all in one piece—but it did not take us long to get wise to the coins of this place. Even though we were “roped” a bit we soon found our old standby, the Y.M.C.A., the best friend the boys have, where we were given the full value for our money. Without a “Y” we are lost and they have just opened one here. So if tis ever a cause which the “Y” is striving for, don’t forget that they are our best friends.

After a short stay at this camp we were again put aboard another ship and we were on the last lap of our journey “Over Here.” The sights on this ship were amazing and after we had unslung our equipment and placed them in proper order it was almost time to hit the “hay.” I stayed on deck as long as I possibly could and when I went down to our quarters a sight greeted me that I will never forget and the only way I can express it is by saying that one mass of human flesh covered the equipment and to help it along I simply piled in with the rest and made the best of it—longing for that good old bed at home arose but after one has been in the army for a while you get so that you can sleep in a “Dog tent” on the ground as well as you do in one of those beds over here that seem to have feathers about three feet deep in them. The next morning after a horrible night on rough sea, we put our feet on solid ground again and then it was another long hike to another rest camp. After a day in this place we “mooched” on again and were put aboard another train which was to take us to our present location. Every time we received our rations for the trip I had the honor to carry the canned “willie” (corn beef) for our squad and since carrying it so many times I seem to like it and even hardtack tastes good when you are hungry.

The trip to this place was surely interesting and many sights were to be seen. The buildings here are very odd, but beautiful in architecture and we saw several of the oldest ones, that are crumbling with age. Well we arrived all O.K. and are now stationed Somewhere in France, where we will complete our training, which will be an indefinite time. We are all feeling good after our wearisome journey of over 6000 miles, which is some ground to cover, but every foot of it has been interesting in spite of some of the hardships, which we had to undergo. The places over here are very odd and antique in every respect and I cannot understand how they keep abreast of the times as comparison to the good old U.S.A. It is a spectacular sight to see a two-wheeled cart as one of the main means of transportation, where at home a Ford would be burning the edges off the curbstone to get there on time. The villages are very typical and house and barn are of the combination type and a large manure pile generally heads the column of adornment. All houses are built of stone or brick and are very substantial in construction, electric light and gas, hard and soft water facilities are not at one’s disposal as in days gone by. Our nearest washplace is a creek about a block from our quarters, but the water is nice and clear and answers the purpose as washbowl, generally bath and laundry and cold enough to wake up a dead man when we go for our morning splash—it sure is the most essential cure for drowsiness and all other ailments I have ever seen and it is no wonder that quack doctors signs and patent medicine advertisements do not adorn every other door or fencepost. The method of washing clothes is another non-appealing one, but very essential to those who are in need of exercise to ease up their muscles a trifle and work up an appetite to the highest pitch. At the creek we lay our clothes on stones and then it’s heavy on the scrub-brush and soap is not in abundance either. At one place they have a sort of box filled partially with straw to protect the knees, while another board is nailed to the top of this box, which leads to the creek and answers the purpose of a washboard, but the genius who devised this scheme forgot the zinc corrugation to help take off the dirt. The horsepower of the “electric wringer” depends solely upon the muscles you have in your hands, but when it comes to wringing the heavy shirts and trousers we generally form a company make it a regular Merry-Go-Round stunt. Oh yes we’re in the army now.

The country and landscapes are very pretty and they have a very peculiar way of laying out their farms and fences are seldom to be seen, but the method is very appealing and the greatest I ever saw. The method of cultivation is also very odd and modern machinery has not entered the first stages of popularity here yet. The people are very kind and do all within their power to make us comfortable and contented. They work hard and diligently and make the best of the conditions in realization of better days to come. In spite of the terrible stress which they have undergone they take their part well and even though tears take the place of smiles in a great many instances, they have not given up hope and bear their lot bravely. Another fancy of theirs which struck me very funny was that if a man and woman go to enter the same door, the lady opens the door and lets the man in first. But this need not be considered as odd, for what is right “Over there” is left “Over here.” Styles also do not take up a prominent role here and the clothes they wear are very plain and when the girls are at work they have beautiful big wooden shoes for footdress. At work the girls can do the manual of arms with a pitchfork about as well as we can with our rifles. We can not understand the language, but my maneuvers with the hands and feet and twitching of the face we manage to get along fairly well and they are learning fast (we also) and by the time this struggle is over with, things will be different in this country.

When I first got here I thought every kid I saw was a girl, as all seemed to have dresses on, but after a day or so I noted that all children wear dress aprons sure some stunt to save on soap and water.

The value of American made goods is also recognized to a great extent here and the boys can not quite save these that are made here and the population in general is getting wise to the quality and are buying them at every opportunity.

The orders and commands we receive at times seem very foolish, but they are the proper tests of the discipline one possesses, which is the most essential thing in the army and also later in civil life again, for the old gag of wait a minute don’t go here, but do it as quickly as possible and the best you can.

Our officers are very efficient officers, in fact the best one could wish for and are real men from head to foot and treat us in a very admirable way and do all they can for the boys and endure the hardships with the boys in a very manly way. There is not one of them who feels himself too proud to eat the same “chow” the boys eat, in spite of their rank, and this is one reason the tests are very trying at times, but when you are training under such offices as we have, the task is much easier accomplished and one goes to it with vim and vigor and forgets the hard part. Every one of the boys has a good word for them.

The boys are holding up very well and we have not lost a man in the outfit. All are doing their utmost and the progress is to be admired and the officers were highly complimented on the work their little army was doing by some of the highest officials.

Aeroplanes are as common here as sparrows at home and we hardly take the time to look up to see them anymore. Today a bunch of them passed over here again—there were seven in a bunch and of course this caught our eye, for we were wondering what had become of the eighth one or the Corporal of the squad.

Uncle Sam sure has a model way of caring for his boys over here and every available precaution for their health and happiness is used and we are not lacking anything, even the eats are good when the goods arrive on time. The only thing that lacks at times is that the people at home get tardy and forget to write, and a letter from home is just as satisfying as a meal. The other day we received our first mail since being here, and the way the boys shouted was gratifying, but it was unlucky for the censor, as when they had read them, they had plenty of things to write about, and then the poor sensor had his “inning.”

Many other interesting things could be related, but this will take too much time to do so. Well in spite of the many experiences we are still here and as live as live can be and the sooner we perform the mission we were sent here for, the sooner we will be able to return to the good old U.S.A. and that will be soon for it is the grandest country on the globe and the trip over here proved it to us within a short time.

With love and best regards to all. I must now close and assuring you that the boys with “cheesecutters” are coming back in their O.D.’s bigger, better, healthier and more experienced men who have learned to rely on themselves. 

     I remain as ever,
     A Doughboy Somewhere In France.



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