Jan. 23rd, 1917
Dear Diary,
I just came back from the Cincinnati Recruiting Station. I enlisted to go into the navy, to fulfill my duties. I’m happy that I can go and serve my country, but my parents seem plenty tenacious on being worried. I told them it’ll be nothing and I’m just doing what has to be done, what every man in this country should do. I’m being sent out on the 16th; I know that all will go well.
-Robert James Woolard
Feb. 16th, 1917
Dear Diary,
As it reaches sundown I stand here, cold, exhausted, and hungry, just waiting to be shipped out. After a long travel here, it’s hard to keep my eyes open, to avoid the temptation of sleep. I feel like I need it for whatever’s ahead. The weather here is colder than home; I even saw a little snow for the first time in a long time on my way here. Despite my persistent desire to sleep, I’m genuinely excited about being shipped out to be in the navy.
-Robert James Woolard
Feb. 17th, 1917
Dear Diary,
I’m finally here, with the crew who I’m guessing I’ll be spending most of my time with, well at least sleeping with; they all seem like nice guys. Most of the people here, myself included have had a pretty bad start though; the transition into working on the seas has been hard and most of us have been “sea sick” throughout the time I’ve spent here. We started the day struggling and we ended the same way. I can only hope tomorrow will be better. Apparently, all we’re doing is sending war supplies to the French, and looking out for German U-Boats on the way. Hopefully we don’t find any, sounds like trouble.
-Robert James Woolard
Dear Mom and Dad,
This war is worse than I thought, and worse than you might have thought too I’m guessing. Yesterday was the first day I was in any “action”; our plan was to be on the lookout for German U-Boats after we got some intelligence. It seemed pretty simple; I mean it was a pretty normal experience. But something different happened this time, we got attacked.
Our ship was torpedoed, thankfully I was on the other end but some of the other crew members weren’t so lucky. There were 3 casualties. It could have been a lot more but luck was on our side. We’ve been on high alert and an incident like this could happen anytime, in fact it probably will so I’m told.
It got me thinking, what if luck isn’t on our side next time. What if this entire ship goes down, me included. I’d rather die fighting for freedom than die a slave but still, it’s a scary thought. But I know luck is on our side, you don’t have to worry anymore, this war will be over soon and it will be in our favor, I just know it.
-Sincerely,
Robert J. Woolard
"It’s early, very early. I still have a few hours before standard routines take place. I try to fall back to sleep, knowing that I’ll need it. To my disbelief; the alarm goes off. For a minute, I think I did fall back to sleep, that it was just a dream. Honestly, I just really hoped it was a dream. I sprint up anyways, getting on my uniform. I quickly exit through the narrow doorway, following my comrades. As I walk up to the main deck, I can hear the sound of order and commands being given above me. From the few words I can make out, I decipher that we were torpedoed by a German U-Boat. As I run, I can see something, maybe someone, covered in blood. I’m assuming he’s being rushed to medical, or maybe the morgue by the look of him. I feel like I could vomit everything I’ve eaten the past week. I try to push on and get rid of that feeling. We’re being commanded to transfer cargo. Huge crates with, supplies: food, guns, ammunition. It takes two people to lift a crate, and even then it’s just barely enough to carry it. We have to carry this cargo for hours; one crate after another, it just gets harder and harder. We’re doing this through the morning, missing breakfast and missing sleep. I can hear groans and the occasional shouting from medical. I have no idea what happened and I don’t want to know. I’m scared, all of us are, but we’re just trying to stay focused and keep our mind on the task at hand. We didn’t expect this to happen; we never thought we would have to see such grotesque horrors of war. Egregious pain and insoluble chaos, this is what I signed up for, and now I just want it to end."
Seth Ruebusch