Ervin Earl Putnam's World War I diary-August 1918

August has Ervin leave the U.S.  for France!

• Friday August 2nd, 1918:
• Left Camp Merritt at 5-30 a.m. Arrived at Alpine Landing Ferry 9-30. boarded transport at 12:00

• Saturday August 3rd, 1918:
• Fair. No land in sight. convoyed by two destroyers.
• Sunday August 4th, 1918:
• Reveille 6-00 A.M. Fair + Warm
• No-one sick yet. Destroyers leave us
• Monday August 5th, 1918:
• Fair + Warm
• Some sick, but otherwise everything o.k.
• Tuesday August 6th, 1918:
• Fair + Warm
• Same old story nothing doing
• Wednesday August 7th, 1918:
• Raining a little. Stayed below all day.  Entered danger zone.
• Thursday August 8th, 1918:
• Some rough. Most of the fellows are coming to it. Man overboard. Lost.
• Friday August 9th, 1918:
• No excitement
• Saturday August 10th, 1918:
• Picked up destroyers 6 A.M.  
• Landed at 3-30 p.m.

• Sunday August 11th, 1918: BREST, FRANCE
• Slept in "Pup" tents to-night. First night in France. Brest, France
• Monday August 12th, 1918:
• hiked down to Barracks in morning.
• Tuesday August 13th, 1918:
• Portaninzin Barracks Some place + bunks.
• Wednesday August 14th, 1918:
• Nothing doing
• Thursday August 15th, 1918:
• Brest France Went to town with detail same time.
• Friday August 16th, 1918:
• Played ball + tennis
• Saturday August 17th, 1918:
• Played tennis
• Sunday August 18th, 1918:
• Nothing doing
• Monday August 19th, 1918:
• Tennis
• Tuesday August 20th, 1918:
• Tennis
• Wednesday August 21st, 1918:
• Ball game lost 8-1
• Thursday August 22nd, 1918:
• Getting ready to move. Out on detail
• Friday August 23rd, 1918:
• Nothing doing
• Saturday August 24th, 1918:
• Packing up for moving
• Sunday August 25th, 1918:
• Leaft Pontanenzen Barracks 5 o'clock.  Arrived at Brest 6:00 A.M. deMyers. Took train for St. Aigan.
• Monday August 26th, 1918: St. Aignon De Novers, France
• Riding all day.  Arrived at St. Aignon De Novers at 10 o'clock p.m. Billeted in a Farm House.

• Tuesday August 27th, 1918:
• Up at five packed and ready to leave. Classified and Hiked out to the camp 6 miles.
• Wednesday August 28th, 1918:
• Tin Derbyshire and gas masks issued. Instruction in gas in A.M. Drill in the afternoon.
• Thursday August 29th, 1918:
• Lectures in A.M. Drill all the afternoon Two fellows leave. Byrd and Atkinson.
• Friday August 30th, 1918:
• Seven more leave. Hartman, Houssler, Hain, Cummings, Groff, Matheis, Myers.
• Saturday August 31st, 1918:
• No drill to-day. Three more men go. Writ, Whycoff, and Norris.

Some things to note in this. The trip seems to have taken about nine days. Interesting that he noted entering the danger zone on August 7th. I assume this was where the Germans were know to patrol. On August 8th they seem to have lost someone overboard.

The map below will appear in the rest of the posts on this diary. It shows the route Ervin took.