| | SUPPLY SERGT. ROBERT L. YOUNG
Serial No. 2,026,622
1115 Bates St., Grand Rapids, Mich
Inducted November 21, 1917. Promoted to Corporal December 10, 1917.
On May 3, 1918, Corp. Young was promoted to Sergeant and received the appointment of Supply Sergeant May 24th.
Among his duties was to keep the clothing records, which contained the measurements of each man for different articles of dress. These he carried around in a box, which suggested the medic making his rounds. He was, accordingly, nicknamed “Doc,” and by this name he was known to the boys throughout.
In his revelation of the ‘‘Troubles of a Supply Sergeant” will be found some of the perplexing situations which confronted him from time to time, and the complex human proportions he had to study.
Sergeant Young’s uncle, Col. W. W. Burleigh, who was in command of the Welland Canal Field Force from the opening day of war in Canada, visited Camp Custer January, 1918. He paid the Battery the compliment that the boys were “more like seasoned soldiers and saw great possibilities ahead of Battery B.” There was something prophetic in this statement.
Another uncle, R. Stanley Burleigh, Athletic Supervisor of Schools in Pittsburgh for twenty- two years, forwarded several soccer balls, baseballs, volley balls and punching bags to our Battery when it was in command of Captain Bogle. We were in need of athletic equipment and these were very welcome. Mr. Burleigh offered his services to our government as a physical trainer in camps or in the A. E. F. but younger men were picked at that time.
At Coetquidan his duties were made much more onerous by the addition of the horses. During much of the time at this camp Sergt. Young was ill with the flu, or partially convalescent, and in that condition started with us to the front.
While in the Euvezin Woods the moonlight was so bright that all tents or improvised beds must be camouflaged. Sergt. Young, Corp. Kern and Private Barry spent an hour discussing what was to serve them as a bed in the open. The ground was shaking all the time with shell fire but they laid down for a much needed quiet (?) sleep and were only allowed to remain there an hour when they were called to help quiet the horses and re-move them to a safer place in the woods. From a pinnacle point in an O. P. which the Sergeant found, he viewed the operations of the Battery and other fighting units on the Eleventh. While most of us had a “mole’s-eye view” of the tout ensemble, he had something of the eagle’s view.
At Pont-a-Mousson it was his duty to refit the Battery when they came out of the lines, lousy and in tatters. He had an historical reminder in us of Washington’s army at Valley Forge. Of course, some of the fellows never will forgive him for handing No. 40 coats to fellows who took No. 36 and making some of them walk around in shoes a couple of sizes too big.
He seemed to have a father who determined to emulate the story of Phillips in letters to his son. They were very entertaining and stimulating, and Sergt. Young was accustomed to read them aloud to his comrades. There seemed to be a marked attachment between them, and “Doc’’ often referred to his “old pal.""
During our stay at Brest he had the pleasure of shaking hands with President Woodrow ‘Wilson on March 21, 1919, when our Commander-in-Chief made his second visit to France. This was when the President and party were being entertained at a Red Cross hut.
He was one of the group who suggested the creation of the Battery Book at Coetquidan, and was on the editorial staff of the Regimental Book.
During the year and a half which has been taken up in compiling the Battery Book, Sergt. Young has given valuable assistance through his knowledge of printing and layout work.
The manner in which he discharge the duties
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of a Supply Sergeant, which demanded much patience and resourcefulness, and his sphere of action, it can be said that he contributed his share in attaining the common objective.
His disposition was on the humanitarian order and his selection in his line of duty was a happy one, as his solicitude for others made his work conscientious. Of a pleasant and agreeable cast generally, the boys found him an altogether lovable comrade.
His letter, addressed to his family while on leave, admirably described Aix Les Bain, the leave area to which our men were sent from Pont-a-Mousson:
Aix Les Bain, Dec. 22.
I am writing this in a big casino at Aix Les Bain, where fortunes have been made and lost in a short period of time. It is a grand place and now has the largest Y. M. C. A. in the world, and everything is being done to show us a grand time. We left Pont-a-Mousson on the morning of the 18th, and went to Nancy, where we received clean clothing and a bath in one of the largest palaces in France. The swimming pool is the largest that I have ever seen; the water comes from a sulphur spring and is warm, about 79 degrees.
I hope that I may be able to stop at Nancy for a swim on our return to the Battery.
One cannot imagine what this means to us fellows after having gone through what we have, to be quartered in a beautiful hotel with the best of service and meals. And best of all there is a big force of Y. M. C. A. workers at our service. We have three of the girls at the Heider hotel where we are staying. There is a very nicely furnished living room where we have chats together, a piano, so we have splendid times. I just found out while at dinner this noon that Miss Helen Chamberlin is a Grand Rapids girl; she was born in Grand Rapids and educated in our High School, but moved to Chicago about eight years ago. She is a very charming girl. Marion and Riva would enjoy this work, but I understand that there is a rule that prohibits any girl serving in this capacity who has a near relative at the front. Can you imagine soldiers having meals like this—salad, a la French oil of some kind, chicken with rice and cheese, mashed potatoes, bread, cocoa and apples. Do you know, folks, I feel sorry for the boys that didn’t get into this scrap. Of course, it is only a small percentage of us that have received this reward so far, but it is well worth while.
Yesterday was our first day and I took the boat trip on the beautiful mountain lake to the historic Italian Abbey on Italian soil, but in France. The Italian government has owned it for centuries; it is claimed that the royalty of Italy visit this abbey. We saw tombs of some of the notables. It is very impressive to look through this abbey being escorted by a monk. The paintings in it are beautiful. In the dome are pictures representing the four apostles, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, portraying the four strong points in the life of Christ. I am going to send you a photo card of the birth of Christ; just across from this painting is the one of Christ when he was 12 years old in the temple. I wish that you could all see these things with me, but in a few months I will be able to tell you more than I can write.
Mont Revard and the Catstooth are the two highest peaks and I hope to reach the summit of both of them within this week. On a clear day one can see Mt. Blanc and a portion of the Rhone valley. We are here at a pretty time of year, as the mountains all about are covered with snow. Yesterday was a beautiful day, but today is dark and rainy.
Well, dad, I want to tell you that I slept until 11 this morning. I was telling the boys that it was something impossible in the army.
If I only had my camera with me now! I may rent one, but the “Y” secretaries tell us that the films are usually blanks, as they are so old.
There is something doing here in the casino every hour of the day. Either a hand is playing, or orchestra concert, movies, and the theatre here has vaudeville shows every evening. Christmas night, the girls tell, there is going to be a masquerade ball, and it is the one evening that Uncle Sam allows us to put aside our uniform. The girls are going to dress us up. As I came into the writing room I noticed that a mammoth Christmas tree was being placed in the grand circle.
If tomorrow is favorable we are going to take a bike ride through the gorge. I suppose you think that I am on my usual vacation rush but not so, as I am only getting a real rest. A rest that only the mountains, the French Alps can give a soldier. The French here seem so different from those we have already come in contact with. Possibly it is only an illusion of mine but it does seem as though they are trying their best to give us a good time. Uncle Sam meets all the bills and I am told that it costs a bit over $3.50 per day for every soldier, and there were 1,200 on our train. I think something like 6,000 are entertained here at one time.
Chambery is another place near here and you may get a card from me there.
Page eighty-nine
SUPPLYING A BATTERY
AS SEEN BY A SUPPLY SERGEANT
The Supply Department of the Battery is not unlike the Service of Supplies of our great army, except in its magnitude. Even then it will compare favorably with the military ensemble in the variety of material it is necessary for it to obtain and dispense.
The clothing and equipping of the men, which is no small item, the added comforts of the Red Cross, the laundering and repairing of their clothes, cobbling of shoes, caring for and issuing of the Battery tools, and obtaining athletic goods for the soldiers’ recreation are only a small part of the activities of this branch of the Battery.
To clothe a Battery of recruits it is quite necessary that it be done very systematically. The plan which is most commonly used is like that of our large packing houses of the Middle West; the raw product is passed through the various stages of dressing and is then ready for use. So the “raw recruit” passes through Uncle Sam’s warehouse and is dressed from his “much too large” hob-nailed shoes to the artillery red cord of his hat.
When one considers the different types of men who are fitted out, it is plain to be seen that there are many different tastes to deal with. I shall not readily forget Bill Schorner in his cowboy attire. He wore a large sombrero, a red handkerchief about his neck, a loose pair of corduroy breeches and a swanky of the blue and white checked type. The military clothing, with its superb fit, was too much of a jump for Bill; he was fitted to his liking in large and comfortable attire to the amusement of all, until he came in for a close inspection of the C. O., when an order was given to re-dress our awkward-appearing soldier.
After the clothing of the recruit comes, the issuing of his personal equipment, which comprises toilet articles, blankets, bed sack, iron bedstead, mess kit, tent, rope and pins, pack carrier, revolver and the various other special issues; as bugles to the buglers, tools to mechanics, forge with its appurtenances to the blacksmiths, wire-cutters and carriers to the linemen and countless other special duty men receive the necessary material through the supply department of the Battery. All these issues to individuals are entered on the form A. G. O. 637, well known to the sorrow of all supply sergeants.
The one hundred and ninety-four men who make up the Battery are hardly supplied before reports of losses or breakages begin to come in, which means immediate action on the part of this department to adjust these shortages.
Our camp laundry at Custer was a source of worry, as shortages in the bundles were repeatedly reported. These shortages were always adjusted, but it usually took some time, inconveniencing the men. Aside from shortages, the soldiers’ wash would contain clothing upon its return trip that would not fit a Boy Scout brigade. Shortly after the bundles had been handed out to the owners, a line would form at the supply window, each individual displaying either a pair of drawers or an undershirt of small dimensions or several pairs of socks that might have fit a midget. But one package that was not opened by its owner until a late date caused us all much merriment at his expense. It was tall “Mac.” He had finished his bath, but alas, his clean attire when unfolded and held up to be examined, revealed that it would hardly cover. After his standing and shivering for a short time, I came to the rescue with a pair of his own size, which eased his mind, and I saved the others for our midget, Sergt. Jack O’B.
The comforts of the men must be looked after, which proved to be a stupendous task, and was well met by the greatest “mother in the world,” the Red Cross. The campaign hat did not afford warmth to the soldiers, so the trench helmet was supplied that each soldier while doing sentry duty would not suffer with frost-bitten ears. Socks of the home-knit variety were furnished by the hundred, the wristlets and sweaters likewise were enjoyed while in training at Custer and during our movements in France, while we were constantly exposed to the elements.
In reviewing the work of the S. O. S. of our own unit I wish it were possible to describe at length the achievements of those far-reaching organizations, the Bed Cross, Y. M. C. A., Salvation Army, K. of C. and the Jewish Welfare. They have all won their way into the hearts of the soldiers, having supplied them at times with the desired material and comforts that would otherwise be impossible for them to get. Stationery was always at hand—splendid literature and magazines find their way into barracks and were with us on the Mauretania. In our reading rooms while billeted, smoking material, candy and toilet articles, all handled by the supply department, were gifts of those units acting for our people at home.
Athletics and games were still another phase of the soldier’s life to consider. It was necessary that this equipment be obtained, and the Howard Griffith Fund provided an adequate supply. The American youth’s alertness proved to be the biggest asset in accomplishing the goal that had been the aim of the allied powers for so long a time.
After having looked to the needs of the men, there were one hundred and sixty-seven horses and mules that required even more attention. This statement will be approved by all artillerymen who ever heard the command “Stand to Heel.” It was necessary to supply grain, harness, blankets, nosebags, covers, halters and the numerous other articles necessary for the animal transport of the Battery. To the Yankee who has ever tried to dress a horse in French harness in the dark, I need not enumerate the many straps and buckles that proved to be a conundrum, not only to him, but also to the supply sergeant.
It has been said that “an army moves on its stomach,” but in reviewing the duties of the Supply Department, most supply sergeants feel that an army also moves through the efforts of this unit of the S. O. S.
SERGT. R. L. YOUNG |