Camp Boston, Rheims, France -Waiting to Ship Home

Chow time instructions and line up. Those may be some wash stands out in the open too, with puddles around them and an extra layer of gravel laid down to keep the mud in check.

Marilu: This looks like a big camp set up to handle large numbers of troops to house and feed until the time comes to load them onto their ships. The mood must have been relaxed and elated as the wheels were now in motion for a return to civilian life and loved ones at home.
According to a letter posted earlier in this blog, This was probably Camp Boston and Lu and many others were here for over a month waiting to move to an area to board a ship.

Cliff Hope in his book talks about his returning home experience:"20 November: Then began a dismal, four-day ride in a truck convoy to the Calas Staging Area near Marseilles. The stops were few and far between. We arrived at the Calas staging area, a desolate-looking place....We were in unlighted, winterized tents. The 13 days we spent waiting were the usual stuff-hurry up and wait, long lines and ridiculous chores. For instance, Service Battery was ordered to nail waterproof paper on the urinal troughs in the latrine."
When Boarding the ships-" Getting up at 5 am we loaded into huge trailer trucks to go to the port of Marseilles on 6 December. Some four hours later we started to board the John Jay, a liberty ship. On board, warm quarters and good food awaited us."

Tents for a temporary stay. A brief 'home sweet home"

Just passing time. That's Lu in the doorway. There must have been some amount of leisure since this was a holding camp.

Add caption

Here's Lu, sitting in the doorway reading something to pass the time.

Goofing off...

Comments

Journal Entry March 27, 28th And Battalion history

March 27 Crashed B-24 March 28 Put in mike base-taped-Jeep broke tape at road intersection. Put in flash OPs. Picked up Helmet, leather. Battalion History: On 28 March, headquarters of the Barnstorming 16th crossed the Rhine, followed the next day by the Letter Batteries. With advancing armor taking the fight out of the Germans, the 16th found itself scouring the woods around Henmethal --- for prisoners, souvenirs and eggs. Souvenirs and eggs were more plentiful than prisoners. From Ray Hight's book: By the time the 285th crossed the Rhine toward the end of March, much of the area was in American hands and things were moving so quickly we hardly had time to set up. The German forces were pulling back, and there was very little opposition as we crossed the southern part of Germany almost up to the boundary of Czechoslovakia.

Journal Entry March 4th- New jacket and boots

Lu in June wearing field Jacket 1945 issue Combat Boots 1945 issue Field Jacket March 4 Got Laundry. Got ready to move. Red cross girls serve chow. Surveyed in rain. Oh yes, got new field jacket & combat boots.

October 20th, Friday-Movie, steak and fries

10/20/1944- Wrote Wes and Deane and Bud- Saw "Cassanova Brown" with Garry Cooper, Terresa Wright-in St. Vith. Fried Steak and French Fries in evening. Packed to leave on D.S. Cliff Hope from his book: Within the next week we drove to Luxembourg City and back twice. The scenery was beautiful, the terrain honeycombed with small, swift streams. On the second trip, we returned by way of Arlon, Belgium, stopping there for about an hour. Arlon was a clean, small city. The stores resembles those back home. I bought postcards, maps, steaks, three scarves, a buffet piece, and, most important of all, a small dish of ice cream. It was the first ice cream I'd had since Fort Bragg. Along the way we checked out the farm girls of the region. Some of them looked strong as oxen. I saw a girl pulling a four-wheel wagon. They had to be husky. Some of the men sized them up as "13 ax handles wide" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casanova_Brown Cass Brown is about to...

Winsor War Notes-Luther Snow Winsor's WW II experiences

Search This Blog