These excerpts (from Harold's Aunt Emma in England) concern the famous "MANCHESTER PALS" Battalions raised from city factory workers and clerks.

In 1914, almost 10,000 of Manchester's best enlisted --
of whom 4,776 were killed.

Aunt Emma wrote:
"WE HAVE FORMED FOUR BATTALIONS OF CLERKS ETC. WHOM ARE CALLED THE
MANCHESTER PALS BATTALION

IT IS A NICE SIGHT TO SEE THE PALS ON THE MARCH.
They are such a nice lot of mostly very fine young fellows. They really are quite superior to the usual men that enlist & I do hope & trust that it will soon be over, for I cannot bear to think of the best of our land, going to be shot at.

We have had stirring times here lately."


[Aunt Emma's letter contains MUCH more detail concerning
early-War patriotic fervor in England.]

QUICK-LINKS TO SPECIFIC SUBJECT MATTER:

1 -- AN ACTUAL WWI COOTIE BUG

2 -- MORE ABOUT VERMIN

3 -- BASEBALL

4 -- WATCHING AEROPLANE DOGFIGHTS

5 -- THE NEWLY INVENTED TANK

6 -- ON THE FRONT LINES UNDER SHELL FIRE

7 -- MORE FRONT LINES AND SHELL FIRE

8 -- STILL MORE FRONT LINES AND SHELL FIRE

9 -- THE YANKEE DIVISION IN WWI

10 -- THE DOUGHBOY

11 -- WOUNDED COMRADES

12 -- BROTHERLY ADVICE

13 -- THE ARMISTICE

14 -- AFTERMATH

15 -- TWO BRIEF EXCERPTS FROM HAROLD'S BATTLEFIELD STORY
(or actual battlefield experience?)

16 -- DEATH OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT

17 -- LETTER FROM THE HOME-FRONT

1
AN ACTUAL WWI COOTIE BUG:

In his first letter of 1918, Harold caught, crushed and glued a "COOTIE BUG" (body lice) onto the edge of his writing paper. He then penciled a circle around the squashed bug and drew an arrow pointing to the circle.
He then wrote:

"Say Nug have you got any chums hanging around you like this specimen? I imagine I could find a larger one but am afraid it would walk away with your letter."

"We are all quartered under ground and turn in with four or five rats as bunk-mates. Woke up the other night and caught one making a roll up with tobacco stolen from my pocket."

"Another Quincy lad is sitting across from me but just now is scratching himself similar to the monkey at Paragon."

"Outside of these pals the Cooties are the best friends I have, at least they seem to stick the closest."

"WOULD RATHER FIGHT THE BOCHE THAN ONE OF THESE COOTIES. The other day I caught a lizard in a stone wall and took my shirt off and put it in a box with the lizard. The lizard didn't have anything else to eat and he didn't look starved when I let him out so he must have ate them all up. I haven't tried the shirt yet, but I can't find any on it so the scheme might have worked."

"We have a Cootie steaming machine which is a beaut. It kills the Cooties alright but it makes just about the right heat to hatch the eggs so when you don the shirt again there's a fresh bunch just waiting to receive you with open arms. A few I have, have got the "Iron Cross" on the back and others with the "Croix des Guerre."


3
BASEBALL:

"This weather makes me think of GOING SOUTH FOR SPRING TRAINING."

"I may not be able to go south this Spring but don't need to as I HAVE MY BATTING EYE WITH ME and if I don't knock a few Germans over the Hindenburg Fence it will be because they are running too fast."

"Where are the rest of our much talked of ball players, over in the Navy Yard?"

"I WAS THE FIRST VOLUNTEER BALL PLAYER IN FRANCE, WHO WAS ON THE PAYROLL OF ORGANIZED BALL THIS LAST YEAR."

"There isn't enough Yankee in most of the ball players."

"In my estimation the morale is WONDERFUL and you know I see a good deal of the opposite WHILE PLAYING BALL so ought to be able to pass judgment."

"Some of my BALL FRIENDS have arrived lately on this side of the pond to reap the harvest. COBB AND MATHEWSON have commissions in the Chemical Branch."

MUST READ:
READ Harold's BASEBALL Allegory / Parody (LINK)


4
WATCHING AEROPLANE DOGFIGHTS:

"Its a wonderful sight to watch the Anti Aircraft guns pepper away at an AEROPLANE. Little black and white spots form in the sky and it isn't until sometime later that you hear the report."

"Beachey at Squantum [a famous stunt flyer], never had anything on these fliers when they are fighting. Each one tries to get above the other and the flash of the machine guns are plainly seen. A Boche plane was brought down in our lines the other day."

"AEROPLANE FIGHTS ARE SO NUMEROUS THAT I HAVE A SORE NECK. Its like your first trip to New York, looking up at the tall buildings."


5
THE NEWLY INVENTED TANK:

"Ma appeared disappointed over the TANKS; perhaps you don't quite understand their use, exactly. It isn't so much what they knock down' you know THE ENEMY HAS NOTHING IN HIS FRONT LINES THAT CAN KNOCK IT OUT OF COMMISSION, therefore, you get in there without causalities. It takes a high explosive shell to knock them out, and as they are a moving object, they are very difficult for a cannon to get a hit on. IT IS LIKE A MAN IN ARMOR AMONG A LOT OF CIVILIANS."


6
ON THE FRONT LINES UNDER SHELL FIRE:

"One hears a buzzing sound all around him. It reminds you of the bees in the honeysuckle at home and when something red hot sinks itself in the muck beside you, you have visions of Paris and liken the red hot steel to a rose thrown at you by Mademoiselle from an overhead balcony. Your visions disappear quickly however and you realize its shrapnel."

"The other day we were sitting at the mouth of a dugout, in the warm sun, waiting for the arrival of S.O.S. (same old stew) when a "dud" landed right beside us. If it had ever gone off . . ."

"Mil and I didn't even get a scratch so don't worry as we have got so we can dodge those 'JACK JOHNSON'S' now. TY COBB never hit a ball as fast as some of them come."

"The Boche (we call them "Bushes") greeted the Americans with a "Good morning American prisoners." They take it for granted that we are as good as captured. They figure we are convicts sent over to fight or are English dressed up as Sammies."

"A few have found out differently however, as our Infantry brought in about 20 prisoners day before yesterday. They said they were glad to be captured. Well better that than to be pushing up daisies all the way back to Berlin."

"Fritz can run all over France as long as the Allies kill six to one. GEN. FOCH who is in command will probably be the idol of the world when this battle is over."

"I met a fellow . . . who was leaving for his hitch up in the ditch . . . These men go ON OUTPOST OUT IN NO MAN'S LAND. They are what they call SACRIFICE POSTS"

"There is not a spot that hasn't been hit by shells and some of these holes will hold 100 men. There isn't a whole tree standing and every town is flat. Once in a while we run across a dead German and you start picturing in your mind just how he died. "

"Will write again next week. My fingers are froze its so cold. They are banging away at each other right now over on my right."


7
MORE FRONT LINES AND SHELL FIRE:

When we went over the top . . . at Chateau Thierry our slogan was "HELL HEAVEN OR HOBOKEN BY XMAS"

"Every soldier has a number, a serial number. Mine is 185005 so if you see that number listed you'll know I have taken a ride on a 155."

"Go back to a "rest camp" for a rest and THEN UP TO THE FRONT AGAIN FOR MORE BUTCHERY. After we have been in the "zone of advance" for 6 months we receive a SERVICE STRIPE. We've been in it since last Oct. Its a gold chevron on the lower left arm. The WOUND CHEVRON is the same only on the right arm. I don't think I'll try to win one of those."

"ITS WONDERFUL TO LOOK DOWN INTO "NO MAN'S LAND" AT MIDNIGHT when no light or any noise can be heard and you know there are hundreds down there. I say down there for the ARTILLERY TAKES THE HILLS AND THE INFANTRY HAVE TO GET DOWN INTO THE MUD-SOAKED VALLEY BETWEEN."

"Everything is still when suddenly a "PUP-PUP-PUP" ON THE MACHINE GUN Instantly FLARE BOMBS go up and then as suddenly everything is dark and quiet."

"AT ANOTHER TIME THE ARTILLERY MAY BE POUNDING IT OUT SO HARD THAT YOU THINK OF HOME and light signals go up along the lines. Its great, if, after its all over, your there to tell about it."


8
STILL MORE FRONT LINES AND SHELL FIRE:

"I don't feel much like writing a letter but I have got to relieve my troubled mind in some way so here goes. I am soaking wet and covered with mud, its still raining and as it is getting dark i have visions of a flop into a mud puddle for a night's sleep."

"To be sure THEY SENT GAS INTO US and a shell took the corner from the building, but what of that, we were not laying in mud and the floors were dry. Good things do not last long."

"The order came to move at 5.00. We never know where we are going, we are not supposed to, but we don't care, for the main topic is whether the mud is deeper where we are going than it is where we are."

"Fall out and sleep in a mass of shell holes? It was nothing new so out we fell, with the satisfaction of knowing that daylight would come sometime. It finally came and the rain still stayed and it has not let up yet."

"All troubles are forgotten on a full stomach and your thoughts turn to chaining up the Boche as soon as possible. I say we forget everything when we have eaten, but it takes more than a good feed to FORGET LOST PALS. There is about eighty odd old originals left and you certainly miss the mates who saw everything through with you."

"There is joy in camp this minute, though, for the best pal I ever had is back with me. Mil pulled in just now. You always knew how well we got along together, but to see this game though you will never know how close it has brought us. No matter what the trouble was, Bootus could turn to the same old silent Mil and get consolation and comfort . . . No, I am not getting homesick and am not afraid to give what I have dodged for nine months. Think of the cause and it is easy to give. "Nuff Ced," I guess."


9
THE YANKEE DIVISION:

"The YD was the first Division in the trenches as a division, and we were not taken out until three days after the armistice was signed thereby being in the longest. We have been on six different fronts, and were the principal factor in each of the three American drives. We were a shock division, and French Generals state that we were the greatest attacking unit on the Western Front . . . We have quite a few citations but very few old timers left to receive the credit.."

At "Chateau Thierry . . . Saint-Mihiel . . . Argonne . . . Verdun . . . the Yankee Division] takes its hat off to no one . . . for we done the "shocking" for the A.E.F.

This Division has caused considerable envy, both way up and way down but we do not stand alone. We stand arm in arm with the AMERICAN RAINBOW, THE 42ND DIVISION. I would term them "COMRADES IN ARMS". I know of no two other Divisions who stick together as close, arm in arm whenever we meet. Their history is parallel to ours and their griefs also. But even then we two do not stand alone. We stand before the admiration of the entire French Republic (exclusively, we two) a thing of which we are rightly proud and proud to think that we have reason to MAKE NEW ENGLAND FEEL PROUD.


10
THE DOUGHBOY:

"THE PRIVATE IS THE ONE WHO DOES THE BIG THINGS, OVER HERE and when its all over you can bet your last cent that he's the one that finished it."

"TAKE YOUR HAT OFF TO THE DOUGH-BOY, the gamest man I ever met."

"After they have put in the time our Division did IN THE DITCH, their manner seems more matured . . . They are the ones who come into actual contact with the enemy, and to beat him as we did, it certainly takes intelligence, science, quickness, adaptability, conscious bravery and a thousand other things. And the Dough-boy possesses them all."


11
WOUNDED COMRADES:

"Charlie Ganzel was severely wounded"

"Peck Fowler . . . WAS SHOT March 18, but not seriously. The machine gun bullet went through his body on the right side just missing his spine. He is getting better now. Tell his folks not to worry, as it is in no way serious. HE ACCOUNTED FOR TWENTY ODD BOCHES BEFORE FALLING."


12
BROTHERLY ADVICE:

"Whatever you do Nug STAY OFF THE WOMAN. It means a dishonorable if anything happens and that means one's finish."

"Its no joke Pete over in this Hellhole. ABOVE ALL LEAVE THE WOMEN ALONE until you get back and take that from one who knows . . . an old rounder like myself has NOT TOUCHED A THING SINCE LEAVING HOME."

"Over here a man might just as well get an "A Wall". Don't take this matter too lightly for it means the ruining of a career if you slip up."


13
THE ARMISTICE:

"With the War over and Mil and I through it without a scratch I feel safe in telling you for the first time that WE HAVE PASSED THROUGH A HELL of which you have gained little knowledge from my previous letters."

"After a booming of guns in your ears for ten months the last day was something I wouldn't have missed for anything. At 4:30 A.M. we started towards the lines, the mist preventing you from seeing twenty yards ahead. The artillery began to bang away, not a barrage, but a full sized bombardment."

"We heard that hostilities were to stop at 11:00 A.M. and we hoped so, but didn't dare to place much faith in the rumor. As we passed the light field pieces (75's) they told us they were going to fire their last shot by 11:00. Then guns were placed on the side of the road, as we passed each one of us took a turn at pulling the lanyard. Of course each time we were informed that that was the last one to be fired so that we could have the honor."

"The Boche were sending over a counter bombardment and as we pulled down the lines the Boche machine guns were playing all around us but not a man was hit. Lucky, well I thought sure I would get it the last minute after seeing it all through without a scratch and felt how foolish it was not to let us lay low until 11:00 but a road mine had been blown up and orders were to fill it up for traffic to pass, for the advance we were getting ready for."

"We set to work and at one minute to eleven we all stopped work, looked at each other and waited."

"Not a shot and I could feel myself RELAXING FROM TEN MONTH'S TENSION. I felt a bit weak but something seemed to make me feel that someone had cut the ball and chain I had been dragging over six fronts."

"A doughboy pal of mine, came along and stopped to talk with me. He was one of the old originals, been in every engagement, never lost a day in the lines and hadn't been sick a day since leaving home. But now, he looked thin and yellow, covered with mud and his eyes blurry. He told me he was sick for the first time, due to drinking water out of a shell hole (probably gas poisoned) where HE HAD LAID BETWEEN THE LINES FOR TWO DAYS."

"Though he should have been in bed there was a smile on his face, it was over, and he had played it through. Suddenly a boom rang out and I looked straight at him. The smile came off and tears came in his eyes and I thought he was going to fall. I hurriedly explained to him that it was the Engineers blowing up a tank barrier and the smile slowly came back. He said, "for God's sake don't tell me THAT HELL has started again." I tell of this incident for it was the general feeling throughout the unit."

"Later in the afternoon OUR BAND CAME UP AND PLAYED A FEW SONGS FOR THE BOCHE and it sure did look out of place, a band playing just our side of 'No Man's Land.'"

"As soon as the dusk came, the flares started up, and it looked like a Fourth of July celebration. Hundreds of rockets were in the air at the same time. The night before THE GREEN ROCKET MEANT GAS, but that night no one cared whether they ever owned a gas mask. Red rockets went up for a barrage but not an answer. THE BOCHE JOINED IN THE JUBILEE and contact with them occurred at several places along the line. Ground flares lit up 'No Man's Land' practically all night."

"On the night of the 11th the front line looked up a 4th of July celebration, hundreds of different colored flares were in the air all night and No Man's Land was lighted up like Broadway. The Boche joined in also and bands played right in the lines."

"I'll say I HAVE PASSED THROUGH THE REAL HELL AND WAS IN IT FOR TEN MONTHS AND I'LL ADD I WANT NO MORE OF IT. Even at that I'd be up there again at the drop of a hat."


14
AFTERMATH

"THE BOCHE WAS LIKE AN EGG, the shell representing the lines. When this broke everything went"

"Tomorrow PRESIDENT WILSON VISITS OUR DIVISION and eats (Turkey?) With the "Croix de Guerre" Regiment the 104th Infantry, and the only American Regiment that has ever had its Colors decorated by a foreign Gov't. I hope they don't give him what we have been eating for over a year (MONKEY MEAT)".

"My letters to you were written with the idea of KEEPING YOU AS FAR FROM THE TRUTH OF THIS HELL as possible . . . FOR 14 MONTHS I HAVE SUFFERED . . . If I told you what was on my mind it would be CUT OUT".

We jollied thru Hell for fourteen months and now we need help to keep our sporting blood up until such a time that we start home.

We found out that there are and have been soldiers who visit Paris, a thing which the Y.D. thought was impossible except by writing the pass out themselves. We also notice that . . . the German Prisoners we captured on the line eating better than we ever expect to get fed.


15
TWO BRIEF EXCERPTS FROM HAROLD'S BATTLEFIELD STORY
(or actual battlefield experience?):

"I could not recognize him for he had been dead some time and was turned completely black. His head seemed to move as millions of maggots swayed back and forth. A wizz-bang had got him, his head was nearly severed and his body was torn in many places."

"Slowly it came to me, to die was not the greatest sacrifice. How easy it was to die, but to sit and wait, -- It was his mother who sacrificed all, while he only gave . . . I am thankful for the knowledge of the greater burden my mother bore during my fourteen months overseas.
"A Doughboy"


16
DEATH OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT

"ROOSEVELT DAY" was passed in reverence.

I was interested for I have had argument upon argument when I stood up for his policies, and the thing that interested me was the fact every soldier I came in contact with (hundreds of them) no matter what their former ideas were, expressed
GREAT SORROW OVER THE LOSS OF THE "LIFE OF THE NATION."

Like all great men, his life was not appreciated until he went west. EVERY SOLDIER HONORS HIS NAME AND HIS EXAMPLE OF AMERICANISM."


17
A LETTER FROM THE HOME-FRONT

Great description of "COMUNITE [Sic] DAY" IN READING, MASS:

"At eight in the morning the CHURCH BELLS ALL RANG and all the whistles blew, and lot of men, women, and children, with hoes, shovels, and rakes all marched to the grounds . . . and there they worked until noon time. Each one that worked was given a tag and they lined up to a large Circus Tent and was all supplied with dinner, which was hot Frankfort's and rolls . . . Then they all had their pictures taken, and started to work again.

THEY SAY THERE WAS OVER THREE THOUSAND ON THE GROUNDS.

IN THE AFTERNOON TREES WERE PLANTED IN HONOR OF ALL THE BOYS THAT WENT TO FRANCE FROM READING, AND A LARGE STONE WITH THE NAMES OF THE SOLDIERS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES OVER THERE, was placed near the entrance of the grounds, and for two minutes, work was stopped and all was to offer PRAYERS FOR THE BOYS OVER THERE AND IN HONOR OF THE DEAD.

And at four o'clock all stopped work and enjoyed a CIRCUS, and that completed the day.
[...]

I suppose you are more or less HOMESICK at times, and I really don't blame you any, for Home certainly is the best place after all, but cheer up Harold, it won't be long now until you will be home for good, and it will seem so much nicer to you when you do get back, and you really should be very THANKFUL TO YOUR GOD, THAT YOU WERE NOT ONE OF THE MANY THAT HAS BEEN CALLED ON TO MAKE THAT GREAT SACRIFICE, and I feel sure you have not been wounded to any great extent or you would have been sent home long ago. So you sure have lots to be thankful for. So cheer up

IT WILL ALL SEEM LIKE A DREAM SOMEDAY.