Rumblings of Troops on the Move - 5/12/1918

 C.S. Ala.

May 12, 1918

Dear Mother: - 

I have not received a letter from home for several days. Also, have I not written any letters the last couple days. Here is the reason. 

This Div. is preparing to move. The first brigade is expected to start moving sometime within the next week or ten days, and with it are to go four Camp Infirmaries. I think I shall leave with them, as I am in one of the first four C.I.'s. The report is that the Camp Infirmaries are to move the latter part of this week. I shall drop you a wire as soon as I learn definitely about our departure. We have been very busy packing our equipment & labelling our boxes, etc. with "American Expeditionary Forces."

I had supper last evening at Wampolds, as the camp goes under quarantine again today. 

We expect to get our oversea physical exam the first part of this week. So unless something happens, I shall not be in Ala much longer. 

Mrs. Wampold fell down some steps at the Mont. Red Cross Bldg and injured both arms, she has been in bed a couple of days & expects to be able to get around in a few days. I think you owe her a letter for the kindness they have shown me (M. Wampold, 42 S. Montgomery St.)

We have turned in our overcoats, woolen coats & trousers, woolen underwear, heavy woolen socks & comforters to be packed & cleaned for our use next winter. 

Furloughs were stopped several days ago. The 112th Engineers were 2 1/2 days out on an eight day hike & were ordered to return under a forced march, so I guess something is going to happen soon. 

I am all ready to go and don't think I could use a single thing from home, unless it would be a little money. 

I never felt better in my life. 

Love to All

Howard

112th Engineers, Dec. 1917

This one gutted me. In the five-year-gap between this round of letters and the last, my little boys have grown into young men. The thought of Howard being only five years younger than my oldest son and preparing to go to war is stomach-turning. All of that, and I know that there is a happy ending where Howard comes home safe from the war to marry my great-grandmother Leona. After additional research for this post, I also learned that Howard would have been among the last in his division to be sent to battle. Regardless, poor Effie would have felt powerless and terrified, just like millions of other mothers across the U.S. and Europe.

This is the first mention of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), which General Pershing commanded starting in 1917 along the Western front. I'll be honest - up until now, words like division, brigade, infantry, etc. were all just nebulous military words. As Howard gets ready to head into battle, I thought it would be helpful to educate myself about Howard's place in the army. Hoping I got this right!

• The Ohio National Guard was one of only a few states whose national guards formed a complete division. The 37th Division was therefore nicknamed the Buckeye Division.
• As the U.S. entered the war, the Ohio National Guard transitioned from the old-school organization of regiments into one of Pershing's "square" divisions. I believe that Howard was a member of the Divisional Troops, which were the last in the battle line behind the 73rd Infantry Brigade, the 74th Infantry Brigade, and the 62nd Field Artillery Brigade, completing the "square". 
• The 112th Train Headquarters and Military Police were likely in the same brigade of divisional troops as the 112th Engineers that he refers to here on the hike. 
• According to letterhead in previous posts, Howard was a part of the 112th Sanitary Train, which was the last group of troops to be formally sent into battle.
• Howard served in the 148th Ambulance Company alongside the 145th Ambulance Company, the 147th Ambulance Company, and the Field Hospitals.