Enroute to France

This letter, was written from the troop ship DeKalb, enroute to the port of St. Nazaire, France. Ed mentions his brother Charles H. Cole, who was serving in France as a Brigadier General in the Army.

(click on letter to enlarge)

Dear Mary:

Tonight we dropped anchor off the coast of France. . . It is twenty days since I left Quantico and while most of the trip was uneventful, a few minutes of it were extremely exciting with guns firing a depth bomb sending up a cloud of spray. My men behaved splendidly and I am very proud of them.

Tomorrow I shall go ashore to report from there. I do not yet know just what part of France I shall go to. The passage was fairly smooth but quite a few of the youngsters were seasick. We run at night with all the lights out. I do not think I have ever seen it quite so dark as it is in the bowels of a ship with the lights out. My first view of France came during one of the most exciting moments of my life. I was looking astern watching the fall of our "after five inch battery shots" and a destroyer dropping a depth bomb, when, after the excitement was over, I turned around and what I saw in the distance was the shore of La Belle France. . . .

Christmas day found us at sea in the heart of the submarine zone and while the men had turkey the officers did not, anyway, tell the boys that when I woke I found my stockings full. As I have not had my boots off for four days, you can imagine what I found in them. Tonight I will get my pajamas on and tomorrow I will indulge in a bath which will be a great luxury. . . .

Too bad Charlie and I could not have Christmas together. I wonder where he is — for all I know he may be on shore and perhaps I may see him tomorrow. I was in command of troops on the way over and had a good-sized outfit.  A million kisses for you my dear little sweetheart. God bless you and our dear boys.

With all my love,

Ed

Letters of Major Edward B. Cole

We are creating this blog to honor our grandfather, Major Edward B. Cole, commander of the Marine's 6th Machine Gun Battalion, who fought and was mortally wounded in the Battle of Belleau Wood in June of 1918. With the Centennial of American participation in World War I in full swing, we would like to share the letters he wrote home to his wife Mary and two sons Charlie and Ted.

Each post will feature portions of a letter written 100 years prior to today's date, giving the reader an intimate picture of a man who was devoted to his family and a hero in the "War to End All Wars."

Carolyn Cole Kingston and Diana Cole

Ed, Charlie (our father) Ted and Mary

c. 1912