FROM DAYS GONE BY DEC. 5, 1917

December 15, 1917.
From "Somewhere In France," a letter home written by Emmett E. Martin, Battery K, 7th Regt. American Expeditionary Force, France, November 8, 1917.
"There may be someone in Johnson County who would like to hear from one who is in France. I guess that I am the only one in France from dear old Johnson County. If there is anyone else here from there, I don't know it. I will begin my trip from Fort Adams, R. I. on the morn of Aug. 16th. We had orders to begin packing our barrack's bags and get ready to leave for some place but we did not know where. Well we got everything packed up but two bed comforts which were left out to sleep on that night, so the next morning they were also packed the bags. The barracks bags were taken down stairs and piled in front of the company office to be moved to the New Port harbor which is just across the bay from the fort.
Everything was moved to the harbor and by 2pm we were ready to march to the harbor but from cause the regiment did not leave the fort until 5. We marched through the city of New Port amid cheers and jeers. There were thousands of people at the harbor to see us off. Fathers and mothers to say goodbye to sons, sisters to brothers and sweethearts to sweethearts, and of course I had one there to say goodbye to me, one whom I did not delight in parting from but I had to part from her. There were a lot of sad partings.
After all the goodbyes we boarded at 9:30 and pulled from the harbor. The next day we arrived at another harbor which I will not name, for fear the censor will not let my letter pass and I will not name any place at which we stopped. We went ashore at the harbor mentioned above for an hour then we went aboard another ship for parts unknown, but on Monday the 20th, about 12 we sighted land and about 4pm that day the boat pulled in at another but we were not allowed to go ashore. There the 8th regiment which left Fort Adams a few days ahead of us was waiting for us and also two other regiments from some other place. About 4 the 21st the boat pulled away with a convoy of 4 destroyers for the voyage across the Atlantic.
We had been sailing about 8 days we sighted a squad of boats meeting us. Well, we did not know what kind of boats they were; They looked to small for battleships and we begun to think we had run in a nest of U-boats, but thank the Lord it was not, it was a convoy of U boat chasers come to convoy us the rest of the way. The next day, I don't remember the date, but any way we sighted land again and that afternoon sometime the boat pulled in the harbor but never learned where and were not allowed to go ashore. Pulled out next day and we were looking for submarines night and day but saw none.
The afternoon of Sept. 2nd we dock in an English harbor but did not go ashore till 10:30pm where we marched to the train station, boarded for parts unknown. The next day we stopped at some little station with orders to get off. We fell out like goats jumping a fence and marched about a mile to an English camp where we stayed a week then back to the train and loaded up in the little baby carriages. The next day we boarded another ship. The next day we arrived at a French harbor marched to an English training camp. We stayed there a week, and packed up again. Marched back to the station and loaded onto little boxcars, 60 men to the car, we were alittle crowded but the cars soon pulled out and we were happy on the way flying the American flag.
This time we were 4 days on the cars when it stopped with orders to get off. This time it was a French camp. Soon after we got off there must have been 1000 French soldiers there to see us and from the way they acted I don't think there had been any American soldiers there before. We stayed there till Oct 30th when we left for the American camp so at this writing I'm at the end of my journey.
Before closing I will say to all my people and to my friends in Johnson County if they see this in print to pray that I may return home someday, and I would also like to hear from anyone who cares to write me; the address given here will find me all o.k."