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Two postcards, both sent by Harry Carlson Co. ‘H’ 318th Infantry ('The Squirrels'), American E Force based in Mayet France on April 23rd 1919. Each written to different brothers back home in in Kersey, Elk County Pennsylvania.
Harry F. Carlson was one of the two buglers in 'H' Company.
On May 17, 1919 the 318th Infantry embarked on USS Maui and at 4:55pm anchor was weighed. Eleven months and two weeks had been spent on French soil.
‘Gee! You at Home Will Miss all the Excitement’
‘Over the Top Hurrah’ (image by Wall)
Both have ‘Censored’ handstamp with signature.
Both have ‘US Army ___ APR 25 H.P.E.S.’ cancellation.
Handwritten "soldiers mail" in place of stamp.
80th Division
During World War I the unit was designated the 80th Infantry Division. Nicknamed the "Blue Ridge Division", it was initially composed of draftees from the mid-atlantic states of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
…the 318th Infantry was made up mostly of men from the Shenandoah Valley and Tidewater areas; the 313th Machine Gun Battalion mostly had men from the Erie, Pennsylvania, area. These units comprised the 159th Infantry Brigade.
The 318th Infantry were nicknamed the "squirrels" while training with the British in the Artois/Picardy section of France; the 1st Battalion was the "red squirrels," the 2nd Battalion was the "gray squirrels," and the 3rd Battalion was the "flying squirrels."
WIKIPEDIA
