To France America sent the best clothed and best equipped army that had ever stepped on European soil. The two million men arrived in France outfitted almost completely in new clothing and equipment which they had received in the American embarkation camps just before they boarded the transports. In 1919 we brought home the first American army that had ever fought in a great war and returned in anything but rags. By special act Congress gave permission to each discharged soldier to keep his uniform and certain other equipment when he returned to civilian life. Even though, for most of the men coming up into the embarkation ports in France, their final discharge was only a few weeks away, nevertheless the military organization there saw to it that every man was decently clad before he began the return voyage, and this often meant the issue of entirely new articles. The Quartermaster Corps abroad wanted to win from the folks at home the verdict, when they had looked over their restored boys—“Guess they took pretty good care of you over there, after all.”
The “mill” at Bordeaux was housed in a long, low hut with separate departments for the chief operations necessary to the preparation of troops for embarkation, the steps being arranged progressively. At the entrance end were the executive offices. Here the soldier, as he passed through, received his service records, withdrawn from his company’s files, and also a Red Cross bag in which to carry his personal trinkets and his record cards and papers on the journey through the “mill.” Next he came to the records inspection section, where officers perfected the entries in his record. Here he also received a copy of the orders under which his unit was traveling, his pay card, and a card known as the individual equipment record. On the equipment card appeared the printed names of all articles which a completely outfitted American soldier should wear or carry wherever he went. Next the soldier stood before an inspector who examined the worn equipment, noted wherein it was incomplete, labeled any damaged or worn-out articles for discard and salvage, and checked on the equipment card such new articles as should be issued to the soldier later on. The standard equipment of each returning soldier was as follows:
| 1 | Barrack Bag |
| 2 | Undershirts |
| 2 | Pairs of Drawers |
| 2 | Pairs of Socks |
| 1 | Pair of O. D. Gloves |
| 2 | O. D. Shirts |
| 1 | Pair of Shoes |
| 1 | Pair of Laces |
| 1 | Pair of Breeches |
| 1 | O. D. Coat |
| 1 | Overseas Cap |
| 1 | Pair of Leggins |
| 1 | Chevron (for noncommissioned officers) |
| 1 | Shelter Half |
| 3 | Blankets |
| 1 | Overcoat |
| 1 | Slicker |
| 1 | Shaving Brush |
| 1 | Toothbrush |
| 1 | Tube Tooth Paste |
| 1 | Comb |
| 1 | Piece of Shaving Soap |
| 1 | Towel |
| 1 | Cake of Soap |
| 2 | Identification Tags |
| 1 | Belt |
| 1 | Razor |
| 1 | Ammunition Belt |
| 1 | Pack Carrier |
| 1 | Haversack |
| 1 | Canteen |
| 1 | Canteen Cover |
| 1 | Condiment Can |
| 1 | Meat Can |
| 1 | Cup |
| 1 | Knife |
| 1 | Fork |
| 1 | Spoon |
| 1 | First Aid Pouch |
| 1 | First Aid Packet |
The soldier next went to the disrobing room, where he divested himself of all clothing except his shoes, which he was to carry through with him. The cootie would not cling to leather. Then he passed on to a medical examination for infectious disease. If he passed this safely, he proceeded to the bathing department, where, under the watchful eyes of a sergeant, he soaped and scrubbed himself thoroughly, first in a hot shower bath and then in a cold one. Experience had taught that the greatest enemy of the louse was plain soap and water and plenty of it. Meanwhile certain of his discarded garments, if they were in good condition or if they could be repaired for future wear, had been sent from the disrobing room to the steam sterilizer in another part of the building. The sterilization process took thirty minutes, which was just about the time it took the soldier to go through the “mill.”
Scrubbed and clean, the soldier went from the bath into another room where doctors examined him for diseases of the throat, lungs, and skin. After that, the barber shop and a hair cut. The barber shop at the “mill” was equipped with fifty chairs.
At last the object of these official attentions reached his goal, the equipment room. What he had feared in the process were the two medical inspections, either of which might stop his progress instanter and send him scurrying to a camp hospital for observation or treatment. In either circumstance, his embarkation would be deferred indefinitely. But if he were allowed to reach the equipment room, he knew he was safe. Here he found great bins containing large quantities of the articles named on the equipment card. As he passed the bins every soldier received clean socks and underclothing, new tape for his identification tags and a clean shelter half in which to carry his equipment. He also received such new articles as were checked on his equipment card.
Photo by Signal Corps
1. ENTERING “MILL” AT BORDEAUX
