*WWI Veteran
Ellis Paul Halsey: His Experience as a Soldier with the Spanish Flu during World War I
The following is at least a partial story of Grandad Ellis Paul Halsey's WW I experience. While he was never deployed overseas because he became sick from the Spanish Flu epidemic, there is still a story to tell. The following story is drawn from WWI documents as well as from a story told to me by his son and my uncle, Richard Halsey.
On Jun 5, 1918 Grandpa Ellis Paul Halsey registered for the WW I Draft in Troutdale, Grayson County, Virginia. Then on Aug 2, 1918 he enlisted. The enlistment date is the date Grandad actually entered the military. He then trained at Camp Humpreys, Virginia which is about 23 miles south of Washington, DC. Camp Humphreys was established in World War I as the U.S. Army Engineers Training School. It served both as the post-graduate institution for West Point engineers as well as a finishing school for engineering troops from all over the United States before they went off to war.(1)
Having served his time at Camp Humpreys, Grandpa Halsey was to go on to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey to board an ocean liner called the SS Leviathan bound for the war in Europe. Hoboken served as a major port for both passenger and shipping lines. In 1917 the military established the Hoboken Port of Emarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. The many Germans who lived in the town were evicted, arrested, or deported. As a result during WW I Hoboken became a military town. Approximately 1.7 million soldiers passed through Hoboken on their way to Europe. In 1920 the military closed the base.
I imagine it was close to the departure date of Sept 29, 1918 that the soldiers from Camp Humpreys got to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey. So from the time of Grandads actual enlistment on Aug 28 until the Leviathan was scheduled to sail on Sept 29 was only a period of one month. What that means is that within a period of 31 days Grandad had gone to Camp Humpreys to learn the art of soldering and then was to go on to Hoboken, NY to board the Leviathan to go fight across the ocean on a continent he had never been.
However, at some point before the Leviathan was to set sail Grandpa Halsey became sick with the Spanish Flu as had many other soldiers. The Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918 killed some 675,000 in the United States and some 50 million worldwide.(3) Aunt Alverta Lessie Lane Deboard, the sister of our Great Grandmother Missouri (Lane) Anderson, and Lessie's husband, Benjamin Howard Deboard, died of the Spanish Flu within 4 days of each other in Dec 1918.
It is on the passenger list of the ocean liner the SS Leviathan that Grandpa Halsey's name appears. The ocean liner Leviathan was put into service in 1914 or possibly a bit earlier by the Germans who built it. At that time it was christened the Vaterland (meaning "Fatherland"). It served as a transatlantic passenger ship for the German Hamburg-American Line. However, after only a few trips the ship docked at Hoboken, NJ in July 1914 where she remained for 3 years due to the British dominance of the seas during World War I. When the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917 the ship was seized; in June the ship was turned over to the U.S. Navy with the Vaterland'screw being sent to an internment camp in Hot Springs, NC. The ship was renamed the Leviathan and used to transport U.S. troops to Europe. After the war the ship remained in American hands and served as a passenger liner.(2)
Grandad's name is listed along with other men also from Camp Humpreys. The list gives the camp name & description of the men as follows: CAMP HUMPREYS SEPTEMBER AUTOMATIC REPLACEMENT DRAFT, COMPANY #14, ENGINEERS. The date they are to set sail from the Port of Emarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey was on Sept, 29, 1918. However the name of Ellis Paul Halsey and 4 others are crossed out on that page. On the preceding and following pages other names are also crossed out. Various reasons for the cross outs are given such as "trans to detent camp Camp Merritt," "AWOL Camp Merritt," and "trans to hosp Camp Merritt." Guess the reason given for Grandad's name being crossed out: "AWOL Camp Merritt." Camp Merritt was another embarkation camp through which many men passed on their way to war torn Europe. Camp Merritt was just over 17 miles from Hoboken. It seems that when men became sick they were sent to Camp Merritt because of a large military hospital on its campus.
During this time period the government sent a telegram to Grandad's father, Joseph Melvin Halsey, telling him that he had died. Three days later Great Grandpa Joseph received another telegram saying that Grandad was alive and was at the hospital in Baltimore, MD. At first I thought the likely reason he ended up at Baltimore was because the hospital at Camp Merritt was already full of flu stricken soldiers.
However, after locating Camp Humpreys VA, Baltimore MD and Hoboken NJ on the map I wonder if he ever made it to Hoboken. All three locations are near the Atlantic coast and all three are in a north easterly line with one another. Baltimore is about 60 miles NE of Camp Humpreys and Hoboken is still another 190 miles NE of Baltimore. So possibly Grandad became sick while still at Camp Humpreys or at the start of the trip to Hoboken. The train would likely have passed through Baltimore on the journey to Hoboken. Either way the Baltimore military hospital was one of the largest in the country. At any rate somewhere in the process the military temporarily lost track of him and listed him as AWOL, as I have found them to have done at other times to other soldiers and for the same reason.
Great Grandad Joseph's response to learning that Grandad was at Baltimore was to ride a horse to the train station which was likely the one not too far from his home and located in Troutdale, Virginia. His log home could likely have been visible just off the main road between Mouth of Wilson and Troutdale part way up the mountain that is behind the old gas station of Great Uncle Thomas Creed Halsey. The gas station still exists as of this writing. Thomas was the brother of Grandad.
At Troutdale Great Grandad Joseph took the train to Baltimore. He got Grandad out of the hospital and took him back home where he recovered. The only discharge information I have been able to locate so far on Grandad is an index card with bare bones information on it. It gives an enlistment date of Aug 2, 1918 and a discharge date of Jan 2, 1919.(4) We also know that he had an honorable discharge as indicated by the military medallion by his grave and the U.S. flag that is placed in it every year.
From what I can gather, the reason there is so little discharge information for the WW I and WW II veterans is because in 1973 there was a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Misouri. The fire destroyed 80% of Army Personnel discharge records from 1912 through 1960.(5)
Unknown to Grandad many years later he would have a similar experience with one of his own sons whom he also believed had died as a soldier, Uncle Dailey Halsey. The difference being that Uncle Dailey's ordeal was much more tragic and unfurled over a period of some three years as a prisoner of war during the Korean Conflict.
Footnotes
(1). "At Camp Humphreys, Va". The Sunday Star, Washington, DC, pg 68. 23 June 1918. Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/332637670/).
(2). "SS Leviathan". Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Leviathan); and "Hoboken During World War One"by Christina A. Ziegler-McPherson (https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/.../1665-hoboken.html).
(3). "1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus)," (https://www.cdc.gov/.../pandemic.../1918-pandemic-h1n1.html).
(4). "Veterans Affairs master index, prior war file" | 76193916| RG 15, Hall, Vernon Carl - Hamre, Carl Edwin, dup roll 92A, pt. 1 of 4, 1917-1940 (from Familysearch.org)
(5). "Military Rcords: Online World War I Service Databases" (https://www.theworldwar.org/.../state-military-records).
The above bio is by the grandson of Ellis Paul Halsey, David D. Burns, M. Div. (#47319474)
Ellis Paul Halsey: His Experience as a Soldier with the Spanish Flu during World War I
The following is at least a partial story of Grandad Ellis Paul Halsey's WW I experience. While he was never deployed overseas because he became sick from the Spanish Flu epidemic, there is still a story to tell. The following story is drawn from WWI documents as well as from a story told to me by his son and my uncle, Richard Halsey.
On Jun 5, 1918 Grandpa Ellis Paul Halsey registered for the WW I Draft in Troutdale, Grayson County, Virginia. Then on Aug 2, 1918 he enlisted. The enlistment date is the date Grandad actually entered the military. He then trained at Camp Humpreys, Virginia which is about 23 miles south of Washington, DC. Camp Humphreys was established in World War I as the U.S. Army Engineers Training School. It served both as the post-graduate institution for West Point engineers as well as a finishing school for engineering troops from all over the United States before they went off to war.(1)
Having served his time at Camp Humpreys, Grandpa Halsey was to go on to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey to board an ocean liner called the SS Leviathan bound for the war in Europe. Hoboken served as a major port for both passenger and shipping lines. In 1917 the military established the Hoboken Port of Emarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. The many Germans who lived in the town were evicted, arrested, or deported. As a result during WW I Hoboken became a military town. Approximately 1.7 million soldiers passed through Hoboken on their way to Europe. In 1920 the military closed the base.
I imagine it was close to the departure date of Sept 29, 1918 that the soldiers from Camp Humpreys got to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey. So from the time of Grandads actual enlistment on Aug 28 until the Leviathan was scheduled to sail on Sept 29 was only a period of one month. What that means is that within a period of 31 days Grandad had gone to Camp Humpreys to learn the art of soldering and then was to go on to Hoboken, NY to board the Leviathan to go fight across the ocean on a continent he had never been.
However, at some point before the Leviathan was to set sail Grandpa Halsey became sick with the Spanish Flu as had many other soldiers. The Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918 killed some 675,000 in the United States and some 50 million worldwide.(3) Aunt Alverta Lessie Lane Deboard, the sister of our Great Grandmother Missouri (Lane) Anderson, and Lessie's husband, Benjamin Howard Deboard, died of the Spanish Flu within 4 days of each other in Dec 1918.
It is on the passenger list of the ocean liner the SS Leviathan that Grandpa Halsey's name appears. The ocean liner Leviathan was put into service in 1914 or possibly a bit earlier by the Germans who built it. At that time it was christened the Vaterland (meaning "Fatherland"). It served as a transatlantic passenger ship for the German Hamburg-American Line. However, after only a few trips the ship docked at Hoboken, NJ in July 1914 where she remained for 3 years due to the British dominance of the seas during World War I. When the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917 the ship was seized; in June the ship was turned over to the U.S. Navy with the Vaterland'screw being sent to an internment camp in Hot Springs, NC. The ship was renamed the Leviathan and used to transport U.S. troops to Europe. After the war the ship remained in American hands and served as a passenger liner.(2)
Grandad's name is listed along with other men also from Camp Humpreys. The list gives the camp name & description of the men as follows: CAMP HUMPREYS SEPTEMBER AUTOMATIC REPLACEMENT DRAFT, COMPANY #14, ENGINEERS. The date they are to set sail from the Port of Emarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey was on Sept, 29, 1918. However the name of Ellis Paul Halsey and 4 others are crossed out on that page. On the preceding and following pages other names are also crossed out. Various reasons for the cross outs are given such as "trans to detent camp Camp Merritt," "AWOL Camp Merritt," and "trans to hosp Camp Merritt." Guess the reason given for Grandad's name being crossed out: "AWOL Camp Merritt." Camp Merritt was another embarkation camp through which many men passed on their way to war torn Europe. Camp Merritt was just over 17 miles from Hoboken. It seems that when men became sick they were sent to Camp Merritt because of a large military hospital on its campus.
During this time period the government sent a telegram to Grandad's father, Joseph Melvin Halsey, telling him that he had died. Three days later Great Grandpa Joseph received another telegram saying that Grandad was alive and was at the hospital in Baltimore, MD. At first I thought the likely reason he ended up at Baltimore was because the hospital at Camp Merritt was already full of flu stricken soldiers.
However, after locating Camp Humpreys VA, Baltimore MD and Hoboken NJ on the map I wonder if he ever made it to Hoboken. All three locations are near the Atlantic coast and all three are in a north easterly line with one another. Baltimore is about 60 miles NE of Camp Humpreys and Hoboken is still another 190 miles NE of Baltimore. So possibly Grandad became sick while still at Camp Humpreys or at the start of the trip to Hoboken. The train would likely have passed through Baltimore on the journey to Hoboken. Either way the Baltimore military hospital was one of the largest in the country. At any rate somewhere in the process the military temporarily lost track of him and listed him as AWOL, as I have found them to have done at other times to other soldiers and for the same reason.
Great Grandad Joseph's response to learning that Grandad was at Baltimore was to ride a horse to the train station which was likely the one not too far from his home and located in Troutdale, Virginia. His log home could likely have been visible just off the main road between Mouth of Wilson and Troutdale part way up the mountain that is behind the old gas station of Great Uncle Thomas Creed Halsey. The gas station still exists as of this writing. Thomas was the brother of Grandad.
At Troutdale Great Grandad Joseph took the train to Baltimore. He got Grandad out of the hospital and took him back home where he recovered. The only discharge information I have been able to locate so far on Grandad is an index card with bare bones information on it. It gives an enlistment date of Aug 2, 1918 and a discharge date of Jan 2, 1919.(4) We also know that he had an honorable discharge as indicated by the military medallion by his grave and the U.S. flag that is placed in it every year.
From what I can gather, the reason there is so little discharge information for the WW I and WW II veterans is because in 1973 there was a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Misouri. The fire destroyed 80% of Army Personnel discharge records from 1912 through 1960.(5)
Unknown to Grandad many years later he would have a similar experience with one of his own sons whom he also believed had died as a soldier, Uncle Dailey Halsey. The difference being that Uncle Dailey's ordeal was much more tragic and unfurled over a period of some three years as a prisoner of war during the Korean Conflict.
Footnotes
(1). "At Camp Humphreys, Va". The Sunday Star, Washington, DC, pg 68. 23 June 1918. Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/332637670/).
(2). "SS Leviathan". Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Leviathan); and "Hoboken During World War One"by Christina A. Ziegler-McPherson (https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/.../1665-hoboken.html).
(3). "1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus)," (https://www.cdc.gov/.../pandemic.../1918-pandemic-h1n1.html).
(4). "Veterans Affairs master index, prior war file" | 76193916| RG 15, Hall, Vernon Carl - Hamre, Carl Edwin, dup roll 92A, pt. 1 of 4, 1917-1940 (from Familysearch.org)
(5). "Military Rcords: Online World War I Service Databases" (https://www.theworldwar.org/.../state-military-records).
The above bio is by the grandson of Ellis Paul Halsey, David D. Burns, M. Div. (#47319474)
*WWI Veteran
Ellis Paul Halsey: His Experience as a Soldier with the Spanish Flu during World War I
The following is at least a partial story of Grandad Ellis Paul Halsey's WW I experience. While he was never deployed overseas because he became sick from the Spanish Flu epidemic, there is still a story to tell. The following story is drawn from WWI documents as well as from a story told to me by his son and my uncle, Richard Halsey.
On Jun 5, 1918 Grandpa Ellis Paul Halsey registered for the WW I Draft in Troutdale, Grayson County, Virginia. Then on Aug 2, 1918 he enlisted. The enlistment date is the date Grandad actually entered the military. He then trained at Camp Humpreys, Virginia which is about 23 miles south of Washington, DC. Camp Humphreys was established in World War I as the U.S. Army Engineers Training School. It served both as the post-graduate institution for West Point engineers as well as a finishing school for engineering troops from all over the United States before they went off to war.(1)
Having served his time at Camp Humpreys, Grandpa Halsey was to go on to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey to board an ocean liner called the SS Leviathan bound for the war in Europe. Hoboken served as a major port for both passenger and shipping lines. In 1917 the military established the Hoboken Port of Emarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. The many Germans who lived in the town were evicted, arrested, or deported. As a result during WW I Hoboken became a military town. Approximately 1.7 million soldiers passed through Hoboken on their way to Europe. In 1920 the military closed the base.
I imagine it was close to the departure date of Sept 29, 1918 that the soldiers from Camp Humpreys got to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey. So from the time of Grandads actual enlistment on Aug 28 until the Leviathan was scheduled to sail on Sept 29 was only a period of one month. What that means is that within a period of 31 days Grandad had gone to Camp Humpreys to learn the art of soldering and then was to go on to Hoboken, NY to board the Leviathan to go fight across the ocean on a continent he had never been.
However, at some point before the Leviathan was to set sail Grandpa Halsey became sick with the Spanish Flu as had many other soldiers. The Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918 killed some 675,000 in the United States and some 50 million worldwide.(3) Aunt Alverta Lessie Lane Deboard, the sister of our Great Grandmother Missouri (Lane) Anderson, and Lessie's husband, Benjamin Howard Deboard, died of the Spanish Flu within 4 days of each other in Dec 1918.
It is on the passenger list of the ocean liner the SS Leviathan that Grandpa Halsey's name appears. The ocean liner Leviathan was put into service in 1914 or possibly a bit earlier by the Germans who built it. At that time it was christened the Vaterland (meaning "Fatherland"). It served as a transatlantic passenger ship for the German Hamburg-American Line. However, after only a few trips the ship docked at Hoboken, NJ in July 1914 where she remained for 3 years due to the British dominance of the seas during World War I. When the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917 the ship was seized; in June the ship was turned over to the U.S. Navy with the Vaterland'screw being sent to an internment camp in Hot Springs, NC. The ship was renamed the Leviathan and used to transport U.S. troops to Europe. After the war the ship remained in American hands and served as a passenger liner.(2)
Grandad's name is listed along with other men also from Camp Humpreys. The list gives the camp name & description of the men as follows: CAMP HUMPREYS SEPTEMBER AUTOMATIC REPLACEMENT DRAFT, COMPANY #14, ENGINEERS. The date they are to set sail from the Port of Emarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey was on Sept, 29, 1918. However the name of Ellis Paul Halsey and 4 others are crossed out on that page. On the preceding and following pages other names are also crossed out. Various reasons for the cross outs are given such as "trans to detent camp Camp Merritt," "AWOL Camp Merritt," and "trans to hosp Camp Merritt." Guess the reason given for Grandad's name being crossed out: "AWOL Camp Merritt." Camp Merritt was another embarkation camp through which many men passed on their way to war torn Europe. Camp Merritt was just over 17 miles from Hoboken. It seems that when men became sick they were sent to Camp Merritt because of a large military hospital on its campus.
During this time period the government sent a telegram to Grandad's father, Joseph Melvin Halsey, telling him that he had died. Three days later Great Grandpa Joseph received another telegram saying that Grandad was alive and was at the hospital in Baltimore, MD. At first I thought the likely reason he ended up at Baltimore was because the hospital at Camp Merritt was already full of flu stricken soldiers.
However, after locating Camp Humpreys VA, Baltimore MD and Hoboken NJ on the map I wonder if he ever made it to Hoboken. All three locations are near the Atlantic coast and all three are in a north easterly line with one another. Baltimore is about 60 miles NE of Camp Humpreys and Hoboken is still another 190 miles NE of Baltimore. So possibly Grandad became sick while still at Camp Humpreys or at the start of the trip to Hoboken. The train would likely have passed through Baltimore on the journey to Hoboken. Either way the Baltimore military hospital was one of the largest in the country. At any rate somewhere in the process the military temporarily lost track of him and listed him as AWOL, as I have found them to have done at other times to other soldiers and for the same reason.
Great Grandad Joseph's response to learning that Grandad was at Baltimore was to ride a horse to the train station which was likely the one not too far from his home and located in Troutdale, Virginia. His log home could likely have been visible just off the main road between Mouth of Wilson and Troutdale part way up the mountain that is behind the old gas station of Great Uncle Thomas Creed Halsey. The gas station still exists as of this writing. Thomas was the brother of Grandad.
At Troutdale Great Grandad Joseph took the train to Baltimore. He got Grandad out of the hospital and took him back home where he recovered. The only discharge information I have been able to locate so far on Grandad is an index card with bare bones information on it. It gives an enlistment date of Aug 2, 1918 and a discharge date of Jan 2, 1919.(4) We also know that he had an honorable discharge as indicated by the military medallion by his grave and the U.S. flag that is placed in it every year.
From what I can gather, the reason there is so little discharge information for the WW I and WW II veterans is because in 1973 there was a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Misouri. The fire destroyed 80% of Army Personnel discharge records from 1912 through 1960.(5)
Unknown to Grandad many years later he would have a similar experience with one of his own sons whom he also believed had died as a soldier, Uncle Dailey Halsey. The difference being that Uncle Dailey's ordeal was much more tragic and unfurled over a period of some three years as a prisoner of war during the Korean Conflict.
Footnotes
(1). "At Camp Humphreys, Va". The Sunday Star, Washington, DC, pg 68. 23 June 1918. Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/332637670/).
(2). "SS Leviathan". Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Leviathan); and "Hoboken During World War One"by Christina A. Ziegler-McPherson (https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/.../1665-hoboken.html).
(3). "1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus)," (https://www.cdc.gov/.../pandemic.../1918-pandemic-h1n1.html).
(4). "Veterans Affairs master index, prior war file" | 76193916| RG 15, Hall, Vernon Carl - Hamre, Carl Edwin, dup roll 92A, pt. 1 of 4, 1917-1940 (from Familysearch.org)
(5). "Military Rcords: Online World War I Service Databases" (https://www.theworldwar.org/.../state-military-records).
The above bio is by the grandson of Ellis Paul Halsey, David D. Burns, M. Div. (#47319474)
Ellis Paul Halsey: His Experience as a Soldier with the Spanish Flu during World War I
The following is at least a partial story of Grandad Ellis Paul Halsey's WW I experience. While he was never deployed overseas because he became sick from the Spanish Flu epidemic, there is still a story to tell. The following story is drawn from WWI documents as well as from a story told to me by his son and my uncle, Richard Halsey.
On Jun 5, 1918 Grandpa Ellis Paul Halsey registered for the WW I Draft in Troutdale, Grayson County, Virginia. Then on Aug 2, 1918 he enlisted. The enlistment date is the date Grandad actually entered the military. He then trained at Camp Humpreys, Virginia which is about 23 miles south of Washington, DC. Camp Humphreys was established in World War I as the U.S. Army Engineers Training School. It served both as the post-graduate institution for West Point engineers as well as a finishing school for engineering troops from all over the United States before they went off to war.(1)
Having served his time at Camp Humpreys, Grandpa Halsey was to go on to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey to board an ocean liner called the SS Leviathan bound for the war in Europe. Hoboken served as a major port for both passenger and shipping lines. In 1917 the military established the Hoboken Port of Emarkation in Hoboken, New Jersey. The many Germans who lived in the town were evicted, arrested, or deported. As a result during WW I Hoboken became a military town. Approximately 1.7 million soldiers passed through Hoboken on their way to Europe. In 1920 the military closed the base.
I imagine it was close to the departure date of Sept 29, 1918 that the soldiers from Camp Humpreys got to Hokoken, Hudson, New Jersey. So from the time of Grandads actual enlistment on Aug 28 until the Leviathan was scheduled to sail on Sept 29 was only a period of one month. What that means is that within a period of 31 days Grandad had gone to Camp Humpreys to learn the art of soldering and then was to go on to Hoboken, NY to board the Leviathan to go fight across the ocean on a continent he had never been.
However, at some point before the Leviathan was to set sail Grandpa Halsey became sick with the Spanish Flu as had many other soldiers. The Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918 killed some 675,000 in the United States and some 50 million worldwide.(3) Aunt Alverta Lessie Lane Deboard, the sister of our Great Grandmother Missouri (Lane) Anderson, and Lessie's husband, Benjamin Howard Deboard, died of the Spanish Flu within 4 days of each other in Dec 1918.
It is on the passenger list of the ocean liner the SS Leviathan that Grandpa Halsey's name appears. The ocean liner Leviathan was put into service in 1914 or possibly a bit earlier by the Germans who built it. At that time it was christened the Vaterland (meaning "Fatherland"). It served as a transatlantic passenger ship for the German Hamburg-American Line. However, after only a few trips the ship docked at Hoboken, NJ in July 1914 where she remained for 3 years due to the British dominance of the seas during World War I. When the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917 the ship was seized; in June the ship was turned over to the U.S. Navy with the Vaterland'screw being sent to an internment camp in Hot Springs, NC. The ship was renamed the Leviathan and used to transport U.S. troops to Europe. After the war the ship remained in American hands and served as a passenger liner.(2)
Grandad's name is listed along with other men also from Camp Humpreys. The list gives the camp name & description of the men as follows: CAMP HUMPREYS SEPTEMBER AUTOMATIC REPLACEMENT DRAFT, COMPANY #14, ENGINEERS. The date they are to set sail from the Port of Emarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey was on Sept, 29, 1918. However the name of Ellis Paul Halsey and 4 others are crossed out on that page. On the preceding and following pages other names are also crossed out. Various reasons for the cross outs are given such as "trans to detent camp Camp Merritt," "AWOL Camp Merritt," and "trans to hosp Camp Merritt." Guess the reason given for Grandad's name being crossed out: "AWOL Camp Merritt." Camp Merritt was another embarkation camp through which many men passed on their way to war torn Europe. Camp Merritt was just over 17 miles from Hoboken. It seems that when men became sick they were sent to Camp Merritt because of a large military hospital on its campus.
During this time period the government sent a telegram to Grandad's father, Joseph Melvin Halsey, telling him that he had died. Three days later Great Grandpa Joseph received another telegram saying that Grandad was alive and was at the hospital in Baltimore, MD. At first I thought the likely reason he ended up at Baltimore was because the hospital at Camp Merritt was already full of flu stricken soldiers.
However, after locating Camp Humpreys VA, Baltimore MD and Hoboken NJ on the map I wonder if he ever made it to Hoboken. All three locations are near the Atlantic coast and all three are in a north easterly line with one another. Baltimore is about 60 miles NE of Camp Humpreys and Hoboken is still another 190 miles NE of Baltimore. So possibly Grandad became sick while still at Camp Humpreys or at the start of the trip to Hoboken. The train would likely have passed through Baltimore on the journey to Hoboken. Either way the Baltimore military hospital was one of the largest in the country. At any rate somewhere in the process the military temporarily lost track of him and listed him as AWOL, as I have found them to have done at other times to other soldiers and for the same reason.
Great Grandad Joseph's response to learning that Grandad was at Baltimore was to ride a horse to the train station which was likely the one not too far from his home and located in Troutdale, Virginia. His log home could likely have been visible just off the main road between Mouth of Wilson and Troutdale part way up the mountain that is behind the old gas station of Great Uncle Thomas Creed Halsey. The gas station still exists as of this writing. Thomas was the brother of Grandad.
At Troutdale Great Grandad Joseph took the train to Baltimore. He got Grandad out of the hospital and took him back home where he recovered. The only discharge information I have been able to locate so far on Grandad is an index card with bare bones information on it. It gives an enlistment date of Aug 2, 1918 and a discharge date of Jan 2, 1919.(4) We also know that he had an honorable discharge as indicated by the military medallion by his grave and the U.S. flag that is placed in it every year.
From what I can gather, the reason there is so little discharge information for the WW I and WW II veterans is because in 1973 there was a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Misouri. The fire destroyed 80% of Army Personnel discharge records from 1912 through 1960.(5)
Unknown to Grandad many years later he would have a similar experience with one of his own sons whom he also believed had died as a soldier, Uncle Dailey Halsey. The difference being that Uncle Dailey's ordeal was much more tragic and unfurled over a period of some three years as a prisoner of war during the Korean Conflict.
Footnotes
(1). "At Camp Humphreys, Va". The Sunday Star, Washington, DC, pg 68. 23 June 1918. Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/332637670/).
(2). "SS Leviathan". Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Leviathan); and "Hoboken During World War One"by Christina A. Ziegler-McPherson (https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/.../1665-hoboken.html).
(3). "1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus)," (https://www.cdc.gov/.../pandemic.../1918-pandemic-h1n1.html).
(4). "Veterans Affairs master index, prior war file" | 76193916| RG 15, Hall, Vernon Carl - Hamre, Carl Edwin, dup roll 92A, pt. 1 of 4, 1917-1940 (from Familysearch.org)
(5). "Military Rcords: Online World War I Service Databases" (https://www.theworldwar.org/.../state-military-records).
The above bio is by the grandson of Ellis Paul Halsey, David D. Burns, M. Div. (#47319474)
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