There Must Be a War Somewhere
June 12, 1918: Sighted land at 6 A.M. and pulled into Liverpool harbor on the Mersey River at 10 A.M. and docked at 3:30. I have been designated to take charge of baggage detail of 35 men to unload our baggage and load [the] train with it. We landed at 4 P.M. The regiment hiked to Knotty Ash, England and left me alone with my men. I have my baggage on the cars now ready to go to South Hampton. The cars are only about half as large as an American car. One of the sergeants and I took a walk in Liverpool. We are in the suburb known as Boodle (sic)1. Visited a number of ‘pubs’. The bar maids sure talk a strange language and the dumb girls can’t understand our English. But they can serve good drinks. Think we have visited too many ‘pubs’. Time to go back and get the boys on board. It is just about sundown and after 9 P.M. Still light when we boarded train at 11:30 P.M. Feel sort of foolish. Wish we could have stayed in Boodle a few more hours. Perhaps it is just as well that we didn’t.
June 13: Arrived in S.H.2 at 8 A.M. after an all night ride. During the night we stopped in Derby and had coffee. All the baggage is loaded and hiked 3 miles to the Commons where we made camp. Took a walk around the town. Saw many houses with sod roofs. Also met and talked to many girls, some good and some not so good. I have made up my mind to leave them all alone and come back clean. These camp followers get my goat and I am not an angel.
June 14: Left camp at 1 P.M. for docks. Embarked at 6:20 P.M. on a small channel boat called the Viper. Boy the old channel is rough. Some close call. Just missed being struck by another boat. On boat all night.
June 15: Arrived at Le Havre at 2 A.M. Left boat at 7 A.M. Hiked about 4 miles to camp. They call 
it a rest camp. Tents big enough for four are to accommodate 12, so the rifles and packs go in the tents and we sleep outside. Unloaded boats today. Havre is some berg. Women everywhere. Oh my gosh. Women. Hope I stay sober enough to know what I am doing. But they do serve good liquor. Guess we will have to try our best to dry up this country.
June 16: The regiment finally caught up with us and we have joined our company again. We are still in this English rest camp. The more I see of the English soldiers the more I like my day.
June 18: Left camp at 9 P.M. in a heavy downpour of rain. Oh boy, it sure can rain in this country. Hiked to R.R. where we boarded box cars, 40 men to a car. Don’t have room to lay down. Sit or stand is all we can do. Guess there must be a war somewhere. Show us where it is.
June 21: Looks as tho we are going to [be] unloaded. Arrived at Ornans at 3 A.M. Some time between the time we got on this train and now, our train stopped in a R.R. yard next to a train 
load of wine and cognac. Oh boy. We loaded up on that. Rolled a Bbl.3 of wine, 2 cases of cognac and a head of Swiss cheese in the car. Oh what a mess. Guess we will be forgiven for that tho. Oh my head.
Left Ornans at 7 A.M. and hiked to Vuillafans a distance of 14 miles arriving there at noon. We are the first Americans in this town. I have a wonderful corner in a loft. Well I guess I can make a home out of it at that. This building was built in 1776.
