The first replacements were a part of the first replacement company
consisting of 500 officers and 2500 men, to sail overseas. While at
Ranspach, thirty-six men were received to bring the strength up to 122
men. They all came originally from Camp Greenleaf, Ft. Oglethorpe,
Georgia, located in Chickamagua Park, near Lookout Mountain and
Missionary Ridge. It was here that the future members of Ambulance Co.
139 received their first military training, among which, too important
to forget, were the duties of kitchen police, guard duty and company
fatigue, the three delights of a soldier. The winter of '17 and '18 will
be remembered for a long time by many of the men, especially because of
the sticky mud and bitter cold nights, although the days were usually
sunshiny and warm.
Along towards the last of May a few men were picked from each of the
Ambulance and Field Hospital companies and sent to Camp Forest, also in
Chickamagua Park, and formerly the home of the old Sixth Infantry. There
they were placed in a recruit company and after a week of daily
inspections both physical and of equipment, finally received orders to
roll packs and leave. Every man, fully equipped, left camp and marched
to the town of Lyttle, to entrain Decoration Day, May 30th, 1918. It was
an impressive scene to see all those well trained, healthy young fellows
drawn up in company front awaiting the order to climb aboard the five
comfortable Pullman trains and start for France. The regimental band was
also there, playing popular pieces as if to cheer the men up, but
judging by the looks of their clean, smiling faces, it was plain to see
that they were going forth, eagerly to do their bit.
Leaving Lyttle on May 30th, three of the five sections started northeast
for New York and the other two sections started south, going to Atlanta
and from there to the coast, thence north on the Seaboard line to New
York. Every little town and city through which they passed greeted them
with a good luck wish and a God speed, and many a dainty from a
cigarette to candy found its way through the car windows.
On Sunday morning, June 3rd, they left the train at the ferry dock in
Hoboken, N. J., and soon were loaded on two large ferry boats which were
drawn up to the docks to transfer the men down the river to Long Island
City. The trip down the river that fine morning was enjoyed by everyone,
as the fresh air gave them new life after being cooped up in the train
for so long. Every passing tug and ferry boat gave the men a shrieking
whistle in salute accompanied by the flutter of handkerchiefs. They
landed in Long Island a little later and after a ride of three hours,
left the train at the outskirts of Camp Mills on June 3rd. Arriving at
the camp, they were placed eight men to a tent with an iron bed apiece
but with no mattresses or bed sacks. Just the hard iron springs to sleep
upon. Here the men were re-classified, received the last of their
overseas equipment, and on June 6th had their final overseas examination
which left them ready to sail.
At midnight they rolled their packs, filled their barrack bags and
marched slowly and silently from camp. At a small station near the camp
the bags were loaded on box cars to be seen no more until the arrival in
France. After another short trip by rail and ferry, the men were landed
at the Cunard line dock, No. 52, and through the driving rain caught a
glimpse of the gigantic ship moored there. They quietly unloaded from
the ferry and in a few minutes were inside of the huge sheltered freight
dock. Here groups of Red Cross girls with steaming coffee and sandwiches
were awaiting them. After a delay of about two hours they filed up the
gang-plank and boarded the Aquitania, the largest ship afloat. It
carried about eleven thousand officers and men, together with several
tons of mail. Its armament consisted of British manned naval guns. Once
on board the ship, after giving their names and number, they were
assigned a comfortable bunk and given a mess ticket telling them when
and where to eat. The ship remained at the dock all through the day and
night but finally, about eight o'clock on the morning of June 8th, she
swung slowly from her moorings, headed down the harbor, and about noon
the men saw the Statue of Liberty fade away into the skyline.
The trip across the Atlantic was rather uneventful. The ship traveled
slowly in the day time, taking a zig-zag course, turning and twisting,
and leaving behind a wake like the trail of an angry serpent. As soon as
night fell, however, the ship would vibrate with the pulsing throb of
her mighty engines and would plunge through the water at full speed,
every light extinguished, for even the glow of a cigarette might make it
the target for some lurking submarine. The men were given life boat
drill every day and also a thorough physical inspection, so there was no
danger of any disease breaking out and spreading among them undetected.
The day before sighting land, two long, gray British Destroyers came
plunging through the heavy seas to meet the ship and escort it into the
harbor. On the 15th of June, about 7 o'clock in the morning the ship
dropped anchor in the harbor of Liverpool, its voyage at an end.
Almost immediately the work of unloading was commenced and by three
o'clock in the afternoon the men were all lined up on English soil ready
for further orders. Shortly afterwards they walked through the streets
of Liverpool to the railway station, led by a band composed of English
Boy Scouts, playing national airs by which the men marched along,
keeping step to the music and being enthusiastically cheered by the
crowds that lined the streets.
Arriving at the station, they entered day coaches and were rapidly
hauled across England to Southampton, reaching there about one o'clock
the next morning, June 16th. From the station they hiked out to a rest
camp on the outskirts of the city and were assigned long, bare wooden
barracks and inside of a few minutes the tired men were wrapped up in
their blankets and snoring in peace on the hard floor.
On the morning of the 17th they again rolled their packs and marched
down to the docks where they were loaded into a small side wheeled boat
and by dark were being rapidly carried across the English Channel,
taking the same zig-zag course as they did coming to England, to avoid
the enemy submarines. On the morning of the 18th the ship docked at Le
Havre, France, and the men were soon unloaded and ready for another
hike, this time to a second rest camp situated on the top of a large
hill on the outskirts of the city. After staying three days in this
so-called rest camp, where twelve men slept in tents that were made to
accommodate only six, they marched back down to the railway station and
were loaded onto "side door pullmans" and third class coaches.
Twenty-four hours later they arrived at Blois and were at once taken to
the large replacement camp there.
Here they were again inspected and re-classified and placed in different
casual companies. All their extra equipment and barrack bags were taken
away from them and they were left with only their field equipment, all
ready for active service. Three days later the following thirty-six men,
representing the first replacements of the company, reported to Train
Hqs. for duty:
Frank M. Allen
Wm. J. Armbrustmacher
Allen L. Barris
Frank E. Bellows
Chas. F. Blaker
Joseph J. Blandford
John R. Fulmer
Michael Harriston
Ernest P. Heidel
John E. Lancaster
Walter Lebeck
Stephen McCormick
Lester A. Brogan
Francis P. Cannon
James W. Coleman
John P. Feeney
Abraham H. Feinberg
John J. Fisher
Garland Freeman
George G. Crowley
Angelo Castaldi
Clarke Ellis
James R. McDonald
John Troode
Verne F. Crawford
Harry T. Douglas
Jesse M. Casteel
Vaughn James
James E. Johnston
August Lottner
Dewey T. Barbour
Fay A. Downing
Arthur E. Jones
Parker E. Saul
The second and last replacements to this company arrived in three
sections. The first section sailed from New York on the transport
Mongunias, Sept. 17th, 1918, landing in St. Nazaire, France, Sept. 30th.
The second section left New York on the Princess Mantoka, Sept. 23rd,
arriving at St. Nazaire on Oct. 6th, having been forced far off their
course by the equatorial storms. The third and last section started
across on the ship Walmer Castle, October 20th, and were unloaded at La
Havre, France, Oct. 31st.
Upon arriving in France all were sent to the Medical Training School
near St. Agnon, one of the largest replacement camps in France. After
spending about three weeks there in drilling and receiving final
instruction for active duty all were sent out to ambulance companies,
Field Hospitals and Medical Detachments of different line organizations.
The following men received orders to report to Ambulance Co. 139, for
duty, on October 27th and November 20th:
Albert J. Daley
Andrew J. Dolak
Dennis Duffy
Lester E. Eakin
John E. Evans
Howard C. Evert
Harry W. Fowler
Cornelius A. Gallagher
Augusts Giorgi
Walter F. Hess
Benjamin W. Kline
Edward Kletecka
Thomas G. Kuntz
Charlie Lulow
Elmer F. Lutt
Jess W. McKain
Clarence T. S. Murphy
Grigory Mukansky