Page 4, The World War I Letters of John E. Kuhl, 1918-1919
Published with permission of the the author, Lanelle Krueger
Full-text of the letters can be read in the book at the Odebolt Public Library
1918
~~~~~June, 1918~~~~~
Off to St. Louis, Missouri
Postmarked June 1, 1918
Omaha, Neb.
Saturday 6 P.M.
Dear folks,
We are just leaving Omaha for Jefferson Bar., St. Louis, Mo. I passed the examinations at Omaha O.K. That Mackey from east of Odebolt has joined and came as far as here. He left here for Denver this P.M.
We are on the Wabash road and will have to ride all nite. We get there at 8 o’clock tomorrow mornning. This sure is a loud bunch. Am comeing fine. There is about 30 fellows that are in the same thing as I am. I cannot write much when the train is moving so will stop. Will write when I get to St. Louis. I think we will be there a couple days. Must stop so “good by”.
JohnThe Red Cross gave us lots of eats at Soo City and Omaha when we left.
~~~~~~~~~~
Postmarked June 3, 1918
Jefferson BarricksDear folks,
Well I got here all O.K. this mornning. We didn’t have anything to eat from the time we left Omaha last night till 3 o’clock this afternoon. There was over 1200 men on our train. We sure had some time. Didn’t have much sleep. This sure is a fine place. We are out about 10 miles from St. Louis and our tent is about 100 yds from the Miss. River.
I think we will be here for a few days, maybe longer. I hope we leave soon, because I am anxious to get down south.
There are 10 fellows in our tent. All are in the same thing I am. We take our last examination tomorrow. I think I’ll pass that all right because I got 20-20 in the other two. That’s the highest they give.
Everything is going fine. We have lots to eat. It isn’t anything fancy but its all good.
The Red Cross sure treated us fine in every place we stopped. When we pulled in at the union depot there was a train of 18 cars of soldiers leaving for New York. I think every whistle in the city was blowing.
Well army life is fine if it isn’t any worse than it is now.
Well if I pass the exam tomorrow I’ll write and tell you tomorrow nite. It takes 7 hrs to go through it all tomorrow. We get the shot in the arm then, too. The fellows in my tent are all from Ft. Dodge. It seems like they came from home.
I don’t know what address I’ll have so you won’t have to write till I send you my address.
Well this will be all for this time.
How is everything at home?
So long for this time,
John
Jefferson Barracks
St.Louis MO
June 5
Dear folks,
Well I’m a full fleged soldier now. Got thro last night at 11.30.
This sure is some life. I got what the boys call the shot in the arm yesterday, too. My arm is a little stiff. Otherwise I’m all right. There is a lot of excitement around here. Yesterday when we were lined up for dinner one of the drafted men stabbed himself in the heart. He was right near me.
I tell you one thing, I’m mighty glad I’m not a drafted man. They are the worst bunch of kickers you ever saw.
This sure is some pretty place. Something like a big park.
Just think there were only 8000 men eat dinner this noon at once in the mess hall. It sure is some big room. It is about 2 blocks square, and has long tables about 200 ft long.
I took out $10,000 insurance yesterday. Had it put in Papa’s name. We had to send our suit cases home to. There are a few things in it. I may send some more home because we have to carry everything we got in the kit we carry.
I think we will heave here pretty soon because the drafted men are comeing in fast.
I’m in the Quarter Master Corps.
Everything is full of soldiers here. Some had to sleep outside last nite.
We are haveing the same kind of Mo. weather as we had the time we were at St. Joe. It sure is warm.
How is everything going up there. I can’t tell you what my address is yet. I can tell you how many men the U.S. has in service. My No. is 3078006.
I would like to take some pictures here so you could see what this place looks like but we aren’t allowed to.
Well I guess I’ll have to stop for this time. Hope you folks are all well like I am. I’ll add the folks I like it fine. Well “good bye”.
From your son,
John
Postcard postmarked June 7, 1918
Jefferson Barracks
St. Louis Mo.
Dear folks,
I haven’t time to write a letter so this will have to do. I sent some more things home this mornning. I’m in a good bunch of fellows. Two of them are form Ft. Dodge and the others are from Ill. I sent my red cross socks home because I can’t carry everything. I think we leave here tomorrow or Sun. I hope so anyway. Everything is going fine. We have to go to bed at 9 and get up at 5:30. I don’t seem to mind it.
From your brother
John
Note: The following few letters were written on stationery provided by the YMCA, upon which appears a red, white and blue American flag in the upper left corner and the red, white and blue YMCA logo in the upper right corner. In the middle between the two is blue type, “WITH THE COLORS”. The blue footnote at the bottom of the page says, “HELP YOUR COUNTRY BY SAVING. WRITE ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS PAPER.”
Postmarked June 9, 1918
Jefferson Barracks
St. Louis, MO
Dear folks,
Well this is Sat. night again. I am still here. I don’t know when I will get out of here. I don’t mind it though because I don’t have anything to do here but hang around and watch the people. There sure was a bunch out here today.
I don’t know how much I’ll write tonight, because I’m in the Y.M.C.A waiting for an entertainment to start. This Y sure is a fine place. They have some thing fore the boys every nite. Last nite the women from St. Louis had a cake feed. They had 500 cakes out here, a whole truck load.
I suppose you got the things I sent home by this time. The government gives you everything you need. I got two shirts, 4 pair of socks, 2 suits of under wear, 3 towels, tooth brush and soap besides the uniform.
I’ll have you send me the red cross soxs when it gets colder.
They sent out another bunch today, about 1800 men I heard.
I had a cold yesterday. I went up to the hospital to see a doctor. He gave me some stuff. I guess it was salts the way it acted. It sure helped my cold because this mornning it was all gone. He was awful nice. He knows Dr. Craine. He went to school with him. The way I found out was, he asked me where I came from and the doctors names from Odebolt.
How is everything up there. I saw that Barkly from east of town down here yesterday. I didn’t get to talk to him very long because he is in the infantry and he had to drill. I wish they would hurry up and send me out of here so I would have something to do. There are so many here even if they do send out a couple thousand you don’t notice it.
Well I guess I’ll have to stop, the doings started.
When you write send it to me by general delivery Jefferson Barracks or to me at Barracks No. 27. That’s where I’m making my head quarters while I’m here.
Did Papa get his glasses yet.
Well “good bye” for this time.
From your son,
John
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