Letters of Ill Repute - 1/23/1918

Sameplace

Jan. 23, 18

My Dear Dad: - 

Was not able to write last evening, owing to a "Venereal Lecture," the entire company were compelled to attend.

Rec. Mother's and Marion's letters. I had already seen the article in the Blade about myself, which was mentioned in their letters. Mother must have tho't my sore throat was worse than it was. I am O.K. now. It was not even serious enough to cause me to stay in from drill.

Dad, they are working a new one down here. Someone has sent several telegrams to different soldier's parents, asking for money, (about $50) and asked that it be sent to their sons, by return telegraph, & sent it c/o Exchange Hotel, they also ask to waive all identifications. So far they have worked it on one of our fellows (Clarence Keiser) and his folks sent it. They have several detectives on the case. If I ever ask for money I'll have it sent to the Amb. Co. address only, unless prearranged by letter, so be careful if you rec. any such telegrams. 

Everything O.K. & the weather is better.

Love to All
Howard


I was disappointed to find that there are no archived versions of the Toledo Blade from 1918 online. I was so hoping to see what the hyped-up blurb about Howard was like! I guess I'll just have to save that for a trip to the library in Toledo sometime to look at the ol' microfiche.

Another reason why I was wanted to find the article? I was hoping I wouldn't have to do much research on venereal disease. Thankfully, I didn't have to go too far down the rabbit role of the interwebs before I found a respectable, scholarly book called The Great War in the Heart of Dixie: Alabama During World War I. From it, I learned:

• By the time June of 1918 rolled around, Camp Sheridan reported around 1,800 cases of venereal disease.
• Although Camp Sheridan was among the most healthy camps near a large city, they were ranked 7th out of 14th in disease relating to "vice". 
• As is often the case, prostitutes took the lion's share of the blame for the spread of disease.
• The problem was brought before a professional men's organization to discuss possible solutions to the problem. Suggestions included petitioning the War Department for secret service agents to identify German spies among the prostitutes and even creating a detention camp for prostitutes to isolate and treat the disease. 
• On June 12, 1918, a local judge brought several "vice" cases before a male, all-white jury to be prosecuted. Although there were several alcohol-related convictions, only four black madams were convicted. This was despite Camp Sheridan's earlier report that white prostitutes were chiefly responsible for spread of venereal disease.

So, there you have it folks. And no, I'm not posting an additional image on this post today. There's no way I was going to let Google take me there!

Hobbling in My Hob-Nail Shoes - 1/19/2018

Sameplace

Jan. 19, 1918

My Dear Dad: -

The package containing Chemistry & Helmet rec O.K.

What do you think I rec. this morning? A letter from Guy Meade. It is the first time I have heard from him since I left.

I dropped my fountain pen this morning and broke the point (pen point). Owing to the quarantine I can't get it repaired in the city so will mail it to you as soon as possible.

Nothing new of importance. They are going to issue each one a pair of those big Hob-Nail Shoes. They will be the only shoe we will take with us when we leave the country(?).

I understand that Francis DeHaven has left for the Officer's Training school in Texas., where our fellows went.

Feeling Fine

Howard



At first, I thought that the quarantine was referring to the Spanish Influenza Outbreak of 1918, but the first case of Spanish Flu wasn't reported in Alabama until September 28 following this letter. I tried to do a search to see what the early 1918 Montgomery quarantine would have involved. Unfortunately, my search just yielded endless results about the Spanish Flu outbreak - too many to comb through for today. My guess is that it was relating to the measles outbreak Howard wrote about in November 1917.

Sadly, the next most exciting thing to research was Howard's pair of "Hob-Nail" shoes. I found a surprisingly specific webpage devoted to nothing but World War I soldiers' boots. Howard's boots were likely the Pershing boot or "Little Tanks" style (so name because that's what they looked like). They definitely seemed to be built like tanks. The soles were three separate sheets of leather - sewn, screwed, and nailed together. They were studded on the bottoms with hobnails, as well as on the toe cleats. They were built especially thick to withstand water and mud in the trenches, but were, understandably, so rigid that they made bending the foot difficult. I can't imagine those suckers being your only pair of shoes for months on end!

Officers Shipped Off for Training - 1/3/1918

Camp Sheridan

Alabama

148th Ambulance Co.

Jan 3, 1918

My Dear Mother:

Your letter of Dec. 31st rec. I will inquire about Marion's card immediately.

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

There is not much new around here. Nearly all the Holiday visitors have left. Four of the fellows from our outfit have been accepted for the Officer's Training Camp which opens January 5, 1917. They are Serg't. Rogers, Serg't. Figy, Seg't. Somers, and Sergt. DeMun.

Serg't Spade will probably be made Top Serg't. in Bud Rogers' place. Fred Johnson and some of the Hillsdale fellows will probably be promoted to the fill the vacancies.

It will make quite a difference now that Bud Rogers is to leave us. We sure are going from Bad to Worse.

As long as they let me along, down here at the Stockade I'll be perfectly satisfied.

Am feeling fine and dandy.

Love to All
Howard

P.S. Rec. a couple more Lion Store Xmas cards.

I took a quick peek at the next letter Howard wrote, and he mentioned Texas as being the place that the officers went for training camp. My guess is that they would have gone to Camp Stanley, twenty miles northwest of San Antonio in the northwestern section of Bexar County. Here's a quick blurb from the Texas State Historical Association about what they likely experienced there:

On May 8, 1917, the First Officers Training Camp was established just north of Anderson Hill at Camp Funston, which later became Camp Stanley in October 1917 to avoid confusion with Camp Funston in Kansas. The purpose of the FOTC was to provide in ninety days most of the junior officers for newly formed divisions. The trainees became known as "ninety-day wonders." In July 1917 the Fifty-seventh Infantry moved to Camp Funston with Lt. Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Walton H. Walker, who later commanded the United States Eighth Army in Korea, was also a member of the Fifty-seventh at Camp Funston.

The above photo is likely not of Howard's friends but was taken at Camp Stanley about the same time they would have been there.