WWI postcard: Douglas Tempest (British) |
The First World
War’s popular song, “Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag,” may have been
more accurate than is commonly realized, for when setting off to war, troubles
often accompanied the soldiers.
American
troops making the transatlantic voyage to the Western Front traveled under threat
of torpedo attack; the Tuscania was
the first ship carrying American soldiers to be sunk. Struck by a German torpedo on February 5,
1918, the Tuscania sank in four hours
with a loss of over 200 men.*
Thanks to the
escort of American and British destroyers, however, most American troop ships
arrived safely in France, although many doughboys vividly remembered the misery
of overcrowding and seasickness.
Frank L.
Armstrong’s Frenzies from France or the
Nightmares of a Doughboy (1919) offers
a humorous sketch of sailing to France. (For a different perspective, see
“Transport” by John Allan Wyeth).
Going Over
From Frenzies from France |
I’m sure I never
shall forget
That trip across
the Briny.
I didn’t take it
for my health
I went to get a
‘Heinie.
We had to sleep
way down below,
Down where they
keep the cattle.
That seemed to
me an awful way
To ship men off
to battle.
And when the
boat began to rock
Those guys down
there got sick.
I’ll tell the
world that was some time
Let’s pass the
subject quick.
The grub I
couldn’t recommend
It didn’t seem
appealing.
Might be because
beneath my belt
I had a funny
feeling.
Of all the trips
I ever made,
That was about
the worst.
And if they want
this bird again,
They’ll have to
catch him first.
—Frank L. Armstrong
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