Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1918 — A SAILER’S LETTER. [ARTICLE]

A SAILER’S LETTER.

U. S. S. Roanokp, Feb. 22, 1818. Dear Folks at Home: Well I am aboard ship at last. Don’t believe I could have hit a ship that would of suited me any better. This ship is just going into commission and so I will be here for about three or four weeks longer. So you don’t need to worry about my safety during that time. I was sick a bed with the tonsilitis for a few days. Just got out yesterday. lam feeling pretty good now. We are using an old saloon for our barracks until our, ship .in finished so you see we live right in town now. We left Premerton, Washington, January 17th. We made four stops on our way around. We stopped at San Francisco, where -we took on over a thousand blue jackets, about two hundred soldiers and a little over two hundred German prisoners. About fifty of these were women and children. One old German captain asked for permission to celebrate the kaiser’s birthday. But he did not get the permission nor the chance. I think if he would of tried he would have been heaved overboard. Everybody thought we would stop in San Pedro, but we did not. I would have gone to Los Angeles if we had. Our first stop after we left San Francisco was Balboa at the entrance of the canal. We stayed there a day and a half. We went on. liberty in Panama city. It certainly was a grand sight coming through the canal. It took us about seven hours to come through. We made our next stop in Charleston, South Carolina. No liberty was granted here we just stopped long enough to unload some of the kaiser’s rubbish. Then pulled for New York.

Then they transferred us off the ship, everybody from A to S went to New York Receiving ship and from S to Z went to Philadelphia. So you see where William is. I lost several other friends that way. Could write a tablet full about our future history, but am afriad I better not risk writing it. All we can do is to talk about what has happened. Then sometimes it isn’t as Interesting. I received a letter from Anna and one from Uncle Frank while I was in San Francisco. James Barber will miss his trips home if he comes out here. One thing he will find out what the Navy really is, which he never would at the Lakes. I bet it will be a big disappointment to him as one can have big ideas of it at the Lakes. The word went around this morning that the Fatterland, one of the biggest transports the United States has is, in dock here now, just back from a trip across. Guess I will go down and see it some time today. When we come back from our trip I think I will have something to write about that many fellows don’t know anything about. A hem! With Love to All, MARQUIS PEEK, U. S. S. Roanoke, Care Postmaster, New York, N.. Y.