After dressing, which you had to do in four seconds less than a minute, you stuffed everything into the barrack bag except your overcoat which you put on, and, with barrack bag over your shoulder and your slip of paper in your hand, you passed into another room. Here you handed said slip of paper to a man whom you could just see over the top of a heap of them, then passed by a man who examined the condition of your hair and then passed outside with the perspiration streaming down your face and marched about two blocks down the street to another building. There you completed your toilet and were guided to your company barracks which was either 212, 214 or 216, and there you set yourself down more exhausted than you were the day you marched from Florent to Varimont. But you were still in the army though not in the mill, and there was work to be done. The first detail was to carry all the rifles from the mill to the barracks. You were given dinner and then given more detail, and more detail the next day.
Friday, May 9th, the commanding officer was notified that Company “B” would embark the next day, and accordingly, at 5:00 P. M. Saturday, May 11th, the company was lined up and marched to the American Docks, reaching them about 7:00 P. M. A peculiar coincidence it was, that during the greater part of this march it rained. It had been bright and clear all day but when we started on our last march in France the sky became darkened, with a heavy cloud, and shortly after we had started for the docks it began to rain and did not clear until after we had embarked. After reaching the dock, we were served sandwiches, chocolate, cigarettes, candy, and a handkerchief by the Red Cross. Miss Colby, the Y. M. C. A. worker who had been with us all winter at Flavigny, followed us to the dock and there bade us good-bye. She was not to return to America for several months. The rest of the Y. M. C. A. outfit had departed with Regimental Headquarters. Mr. Allen, the K. of C. worker who had been with us at Flavigny, returned to America with us. We embarked at 8:00 P. M. May 10th, on the good ship “OTSEGO,” formerly the Prince Eitel Fredrich III, one of the German liners that had been turned over to the American Government for the transportation of troops to America. It was her second trip in this service.
The trip was long, somewhat tedious, and uneventful. The food was excellent, the best we had had since we had left home. The Azores lay along our route and we passed close enough to see some of the buildings. A couple of schools of small whales were sighted, and porpoises were continually playing about the ship. The third or fourth day out we began to have trouble with the boilers, which continued nearly all the way across, which accounted for the length of the voyage. On the morning of the 25th we passed the “Ambrose” Lightship and soon after sighted land. We expected to dock in the afternoon, but it was five o’clock when we entered the Upper Bay at New York and dropped anchor off St. Georges, S. I. Many small boats loaded with sight-seers came by. The Mayor’s Committee of New York City brought a band to play for us. The next morning, May 26th, 1919, about eight o’clock we weighed anchor and sailed up the river to Hoboken, where we docked a half hour later. We were given a light lunch by the Red Cross and were then put on a river boat and went to the West Shore docks, where we got on a train and went to Camp Merritt. It was a grand and glorious feeling to be riding in an American train once more. We arrived at Camp Merritt about 11:00 A. M. and had lunch shortly after. In the afternoon we again went through the mill or “Sanitary Process” and the next morning went to a different part of the camp, where the company was broken up into Casual Detachments. The men from most of the Southern and Western camps being assigned to Hoboken Casual Detachments, and the others into Camp Dix, Camp Upton, or Camp Grant Casual Detachments. We did not move out, however, until Sunday afternoon, June 1st. Passes were issued daily, however, and a majority of the men took advantage of this privilege and went home to visit their folks. At 2:00 P. M. June 1st, the Camp Dix C. D. entrained for Camp Dix, where we arrived at 7:00 P. M. and immediately turned in all our equipment and then marched to the barracks formerly occupied by the Third Battalion.
June 2nd: All company records were turned in and Company “B” was only a memory. The days dragged slowly by until Thursday, June 5th, when we had our final examination. One incident happened at this time which to us seemed almost tragical. A Welcoming Committee from Elizabeth came down Wednesday, June 4th, three days after we entered Camp Dix, to see the Elizabeth boys, and upon inquiring at Camp Headquarters for our location, were told that we were not in the Camp, as they had no record of us. This probably was the reason why several outfits that arrived in camp as late as Wednesday were discharged ahead of us. Saturday morning, June 7th, is a day in the lives of the remaining men of Company “B” 311th Infantry never to be forgotten, as it was then that we received our final pay and discharge from the Army and once more became civilians.
COMPLETE ALPHABETICAL ROSTER
OF
COMPANY “B,” 311TH INFANTRY
Including all officers and men assigned to and present with the company upon arrival in France, and all replacements of men received overseas.
The information shown in the following roster is compiled from data from the Company Records. The information regarding men who were wounded is taken from reports sent in to Personnel Headquarters of the Regiment by the Medical Detachment and Battalion Headquarters. All the information is shown regarding men killed in action that was obtainable from the records of the Regiment and from eye witnesses.
All men shown as having joined prior to May 19th were with the company when it arrived in France; those who joined October 12, 1918, were replacements from the 86th Division.
Men who were wounded or evacuated for other causes did not return to the company unless so stated. All other men returned to the United States with the company except a few who were kept at the port of embarkation on account of missing records, which was due to no fault of theirs.