 section 7 of in Italy with the 332nd Infantry this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org in Italy with the 332nd Infantry by Joseph L. Letow chapter 6 Cormons Austria from Cormons to Treviso on arriving at Cormons at the close of November 12th the regiment pitched tents in the field close to town regimental headquarters and the detachment found a two-story building cleaned it as usual and occupied it the next morning was spent in ransacking the place which from the maps pamphlets and books had evidently been the headquarters of the Austrian police one of the books found was called Strafprozess and was written in question and answer form seemingly for the guidance of the police in examining questionable people in the art of the building we found several rifles and much ammunition curious thing about the rifles was an inscription on the steel barrel which read Republicana Mexicana the boys in the companies had found a storehouse full of guns knives and other implements of warfare and had collected quite a few souvenirs but the officers heard about it and ordered everything replaced during the day the companies were marched to a barracks a short distance from town this barracks is reputed to have been built by the Austrians in 1832 it was a decided improvement over pub tents since the weather was very cold damp and raw it was difficult for Americans to procure fuel so a barracks was imperative Cormons has a population of about 6,000 and is a lively place for its size while many Italians live here German is spoken in most of the stores in those owned by Austrians were very coolly treated and one could readily see the glow of resentment beneath the sullen stairs however with many Italian troops in the vicinity beside our own no serious outbreak was feared nevertheless the losers were by no means paralyzed for one night a train full of Italian refugees was thrown from the tracks with serious consequences due to malicious tampering with the rails again on another night our tranquil existence was thrilled by the claim of a fire bill running to the street we saw primitive manpower hose cart being pulled down the street following this we came to the scene of the fire which was one of the wings of a war hospital it was the only wooden building in town and fortunately was unoccupied the flames were beyond control of the fire department whose efforts consisted in trying to keep the fire from spreading to the other parts of the building of course this fire was attributed to the Austrians with a German signature to the armistice the war ended for us some dream that for them the famous saying heaven hell or hoboken by Christmas would come true was intolerable to think that we would not be on the way at that time little drilling was done only the necessary chores were performed for the rest we awaited orders and wrote letters at this time the mail came in regularly and the news from home helped to pass the weary hours of waiting my buddy pulled through the long march somehow but a few days after reaching Cormans he complained of chills and his body shook even while he sat next to a fire we urged him to see the doctor a few doors away whose chief occupation these days seemed to be feeding wood to the adjutant stove he hesitated I believe he feared that he would be sent to the damp will be hospital at you Dean away from all his friends his condition showed no improvement when his temperature was taken by a medical sergeant it was so high that the sergeant tagged him flew and sent him to the hospital it was the last time we saw him alive this good pal who had been too plucky to drop out on the march when he must have felt that the March was killing him it was much influenza in Cormans within the regiment and among the natives were made aware of this latter fact by the almost daily procession of priests acolytes mourners and bearers carrying the corpses which passed our door in the hospital at you Dean five of our lads had died in four days and many in the regiment had heavy colds which caused much concern the climate was miserably raw and cold a novel and pleasant way to beat the flu as practiced by some of the boys was to keep their bodies warm with frequent doses of cognac when the regiment was at Bellegio the subject of grapes was mentioned during the maneuvers in the trenches with the Arditi grapes were stolen for vineyards and the owners of these vineyards turned in bills for something like 24,000 lyres about four thousand dollars against the Americans our claim officer would not agree to pay this amount and he succeeded in having it lowered about one half every man an officer was obliged to contribute officers were charged five lyres non-commissioned officers for lyres in privates three lyres some of us never saw the vineyards others had no objection to the tax this was but one of the many claims presented the Italian attitude seemed to be that all Americans were millionaires and that it was their duty to get all they could from the Americans while they're getting was good on November 18th the third battalion packed up and in trained for fume to do international police duty gone then were the glimmering hopes of an early departure for the rumor persisted seemed to have foundation that the first battalion headquarters were bound for tree stay however so I heard the colonel prevailed against the American mission at Padua that our place was in traviso where our supplies lay in warehouses accordingly early Sunday morning November the 24th with great joy in our hearts we were ready for the return to traviso the companies were to walk despite the thousands of Italian trucks standing idle however the packs were put upon American trucks so that they were unburdened to that extent headquarters detachment was fortunate in being allowed to ride upon the trucks which carried the office equipment and some officers bedding rolls the trip was one to be remembered when we started the day was pleasantly brisk but not cold leaving at eight o'clock we traveled without adventure until we reached the livenza river here the bridge had been blown up and a platoon had been built in its place when we started to cross an Italian lieutenant stopped us saying that the pontoon was not strong enough for our heavy trucks all argument was of no avail we were in a strange country and to make a detour several miles as he suggested would cause us endless trouble even while we talked an Italian truck crossed the pontoon towing a second truck we pointed to the two trucks crossing it one time but we received only his maddening smile and a refusal some of the boys in the party were in favor of emulating one of our sergeants who during our advance was bringing food to us as the story goes this sergeant's trucks were approaching a pontoon when an Italian colonel ran out with arms wildly waving while he voiced a loud refusal the sergeant was a man a few words he knew that the regiment was in need of food and he thought the pontoon was strong enough having faith in his judgment and cause he displayed his automatic and motioning the trucks forward back the colonel across the whole pontoon the pontoon creaked and trembled under the heavy trucks but fortunately no mishap occurred our and was not so urgent so we turned about feeling very bitter as this appeared to be just another instance of that antagonism to which we had been subjected by the Italian since the day of the armistice after following the river for five or six miles we came to a bridge and crossed it was now nearly dark and we should have been approaching traviso with evening the weather grew colder and as a pleasure party our trip was a failure we reached the piave soon after and successfully crossed the creaking pontoon however we had not gone a hundred yards beyond when as we were climbing a hill both trucks stopped upon investigating we learned that both had run out of gasoline it was a peculiar coincidence on other side of us were damp clay embankments and all about was darkness what should we do we were in a strange country and in a poor part of that so far as replenishing our gasoline supply one we thought we could borrow the can from one of the many passing Italian fiat's but no one seemed to have an extra can meanwhile someone rooting around among the packs and boxes on our truck found a three gallon can of gasoline but that would not take us to traviso which we were told was 20 miles away we again resumed our efforts to beg gasoline from the Italians but when some time had passed without our efforts being rewarded the boys and loud voices told the countryside what they thought of the Italian nation in general and these Italian drivers in particular about this time we noticed a can of gasoline in the rear of a truck which had stopped close by however when we edged near to lift the gasoline the driver suspected and moved the can fresh outbursts of American oratory hailed this failure but out of the den rose a voice speaking the American language with a slight accent and the voice asked who wants gasoline before the speaker could have changed his mind a half dozen answered here as he came nearer we saw he had a five gallon can we thank this Italian who had been to America loaded him down with cigarettes and pour the gasoline into our truck with eight gallons we felt we could make traviso bidding farewell to the occupants of the other truck with the promise of speedy relief we set forth without a map we stumbled onward in the darkness we had traveled several miles along a dark road when upon reaching the end we perceived a river but no bridge or pontoon was a delicate task to turn the large truck in the narrow road retracing our tracks we set out again fearful now that our gasoline would become exhausted to add to the discomfort the snow fell and the night grew very cold however we were on the right road and at 10 p.m. we entered the gate at traviso during this time the companies were walking to traviso on the first day of this tiresome march they covered 27 kilometers at 7 the next morning the march was continued without a rest for the noon meal and at 5 p.m. another 35 kilometers were passed here the tired foot sore lads went into billets until 7 a.m. of the 27 when the march was resumed and 38 more kilometers were marched on November 28th Thanksgiving Day they enjoyed a dinner of slump and reached the song the suburb of traviso at 4 20 p.m. the distance March this day was 32 kilometers end of section 7 section 8 of in Italy with the 332nd Infantry this is a Libri Vox recording all Libri Vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Libri Vox.org in Italy with the 332nd Infantry by Joseph L. Lettow chapter 7 traviso after the drive from once inside the gates we were happy despite our hunger and cold for both were soon forgotten and in addition the boys who had remained in traviso to guard our stores and forward supplies shared their bunks with us it may be well to say a little more about these lads who had remained at our base when the regiment marched to the front there were about 150 of them but as men came from the hospitals and could not join us in Austria this casual detachment as it came to be known doubled in numbers and occupied all available space at the time of our unexpected arrival they had a fairly elastic organization accustomed to serving meals at all hours traviso had now taken on a different aspect by day and by night the war being over many citizens had returned the marketplace opened up on market days and the boards came off the house windows the stores open but at noon according to custom they closed from 12 to 2 while the shopkeepers retired to their beds at night with no fear of air raids shades were not pulled down and the street lights were lit while the Italian soldiers seeing oh solo meal and other favorites made the nights cheery besides americans there were british and italian soldiers in traviso with many soldiers and the great number of citizens returning home it was difficult to obtain a building for regimental headquarters so it was not until the fifth day after returning to traviso that we found a home which provided room for four offices and sleeping quarters for the detachment and the band the line companies of the first battalion were stationed in in italian barracks they had little to do other than the usual fatigue and a small amount of drilling most of the afternoon and evening was free but with the lack of amusement the hours hung heavily later the ymca helped with a reading room in canteen and the english who had leased the theater entertained us with shows and movies many walked across country in search of souvenirs visiting prison camps and battlefields in the region of the piave and before long barracks bags were filled with shells copper paper knives austrian helmets and even rifles and swords with plenty of time a great fad of decorating shells took hold and some beautifully decorated shells resulted our pleasures and anticipations however were tempered with sorrow for during the latter part of november there was a funeral nearly every day my friend died november 27th and he and another friend were buried november 29th the bodies and boxes draped with the america flag were placed in a truck the band played a funeral march and the sorrowful procession started besides the band and truck there were in the procession the chaplain the firing squad the polebearers and the friends of the deceased at the atarian cemetery we advanced to a corner where there were many new unpainted crosses on the tops of which were nailed the aluminum identification disc worn by every soldier the chaplain read his prayers over the remains the bodies were lowered and thus ended the earthly career of these brave lads who were never to see their loved ones in this life two new wooden crosses were added to the others and later two little numbered stones were placed on the graves the band formed in as it marched up the street struck up a lively march according to custom shortly after we were in receipt of a communication from Earl cabin who had commanded our army corps during the drive in his letter he commended the regiment on its conduct and awarded the regiment the english distinguished service order at this time the good feeling which had existed between the italian and american soldiers threatened to end many of us thought that the original cause was cigarettes and tobacco in the first place when the americans received permission to bring cigarettes and tobacco into italy the italian government insisted that none be sold to italians therefore when the dough boys came from the y and the commissary with cigarettes the italians who could buy only 20 of the atrocious nasadonian cigarettes a week from their stores wish to purchase american cigarettes now the americans could not sell them to the italians without violating the command of the italian government however finding that they could not buy cigarettes the italians began to beg them at first the boys were generous but eventually an american could not step from his billet without finding several italians waiting to say cigarette the group tiresome this cigarette and when an american hothead met an italian hothead the inevitable resulted the feeling thus started spread in other directions the people of europe italians not accepted seemed to think it legitimate to grossly overcharge when the opportunity arose in some of the italian stores there are signs which read fixed prices but like many signs they meant nothing the way to buy in italy is to ask the price of an article and upon obtaining it divide it by two three or four and if you really want the article haggle and walk toward the door several times until the storekeeper comes near your price this was an unusual method for americans and much ill will result it when the americans entered italy an agreement was made between the two governments as to amounts and kinds of food the italian government was to furnish the american soldiers after we were in italy there were times of course when certain articles were not available and therefore could not have been issued to the americans however as the supply company men know there were other times when the italians refused to issue food stuffs on the grounds that they did not have them the american sergeants refused to believe them and upon forcing their way into the italian commissary found the foodstuffs there on another occasion the paying officer and his assistants placed their safe with money for the troops at fiumi and cataro in an italian railroad car american guards were placed with a safe officious italians with no justifiable reason put guard and money off the car rather than create trouble the american captain was man enough to hold his peace for the time the matter was taken up with the italian authorities and the captain finally succeeded in getting his money to the men on other occasions i have been told is only the backbone of the american boys in charge of the american mail that prevented sneering italian officials from cutting open and going through the mail bags containing not only personal mail but united states government official mail these matters were generally adjusted but no guarantees seem capable of preventing a recurrence it seemed to many of us from the treatment accorded americans that the united states of america was a fourth rate power cringing and begging for the goodwill of powerful majestic italy possibly and i prefer to think it the government of italy was doing all for us that it could i believe that our troubles arose from officers below the rank of general who retained it with bolshevism and saturated with self-importance it seemed also that some of the higher american officers cared more for the smile of an italian official than for their countryman's welfare in the early part of december it was decided to send about 40 convalescent soldiers of the third battalion together with the mail and baggage to fiumi accordingly arrangements were made for them to leave on a fast train saturday december 14th however the time of departure was postponed by the italians to the next morning and then again put off until the afternoon at 2 p.m the six soldiers arrived at the station to enter their box cars which stood on the siding strange to say when inquiry was made not an italian official knew anything about the disposal of these cars who's finally decided that they would go forward monday morning at this time the boys boarded the box cars and at noon the train left traviso after a few miles it was held up for two hours and at casarse the engine put the cars on a siding and departed was a cold damp night and the box cars were poor shelter for sick men tuesday morning came but there was no sign of an engine and the station officials could not say when a train for fiumi would arrive in the afternoon the cars were moved along about 10 miles and here again the officials knew nothing hearing that the rom tree stay express came through porto gruaro the american lieutenant in charge decided to send all but six men on the express the officials made out the necessary passes and when the express arrived the men boarded it however an italian policeman ordered them off and was supported by an italian colonel who said enlisted men were not allowed to ride on the express the lieutenant appealed to the station master who then admitted that the colonel was right the american explained that the men were sick but he received only insults and refusal from the officious colonel the station master promised another train that evening but none arrived and on thursday the lieutenant thoroughly angry wired a higher official and at three p.m the cars moved out of porto gruaro again that night the cars were sidetracked but the lieutenant quickly obtained action here and with several more delays finally reached fiumi at noon december 21st instead of a 10 or 12 hour ride five days and five nights were required to make the trip this is a sample of the treatment which makes the 332nd anxious for another war in italy after the english had left traviso the american y leased the town theater for vaudeville band concerts and pictures our band gave several grand concerts here which were greatly enjoyed incidentally the y made itself popular with the boys by charging them to hear their own band play the interior of the theater consisted of an orchestra and several tiers of boxes instead of a gallery and balcony as in our theaters just before thanksgiving nine men dressed in german civilian clothes made of paper came into our mist they were thoroughly questioned and examined and it was established beyond doubt that they were american soldiers wounded and captured in the chateau thierry drive they had been sent across france and germany into poland along with hundreds of other prisoners they did not complain of their treatment at the hands of the germans but said that they had not obtained proper food nor proper medical attention they told of operations undergone without anesthetics at their first opportunity they had made their escape a few weeks later an american captain found his way into traviso and his story brought out the fact that he had been commander of some of the nine men mentioned above he was greatly surprised to find american soldiers in italy the red cross assisted us materially from their great supplies they gave us blankets pajamas socks sweaters and much food we had been unable to obtain potatoes for several weeks but the red cross furnished us with them as the censorship was off the mail many began to send home souvenirs and sometimes the post office had to refuse austrian helmets for the office was full of them but the first of december we received a red white and green service stripe from the italian government which denoted four month service on the italian front this was immediately christened the macaroni bar a few days later december 8th we received the american gold v for six months overseas service christmas which we had so fondly hope would see us on the way home at last came during the day nothing special occurred except that the christmas boxes from home were distributed and this served to impress the thought of home more firmly upon the mind however there were many private celebrations and at 6 30 p.m about 20 of us filed into the dining room and prepared to partake of a real christmas dinner the splendid meal consisted of soup fish mash potatoes turkey dressing gravy sweet corn bread butter pumpkin pie corn starch pudding with peaches and cream coffee wine champagne and fruit punch the whole was most excellently prepared by a quartet of the best cooks whoever donned a khaki uniform during the evening speeches stories and songs obliterated the main walls and took us back home to our dear america it was the most successful dinner in christmas night many rumors filled the air these days some said we're going to fiumi some said triste while others more imaginative said the Balkans also agreed however that home was in the distant future with few exceptions the life in traviso was a hum drum existence the rest after the strenuous days before the armistice was very welcome but the long idleness gave the men too much time to think of home naturally they became discontented this frame of mind was capable of producing mischief so in the early part of december passes were given to venice milan and other nearby towns venice just 19 miles away drew most of the visitors since railways were owned by the government no fare was paid by the military a pass from the commanding officer with a regimental staff being all the authority required the conductors could not read english so the boys unable to obtain authorized passes made their own and these were accepted so long as they bore a signature in december we learned that president wilson would be in rome january 3rd 1919 so on january 1st the detachment consisting of the band and an honor guard or 25 were sent to greet him after a 24-hour ride we reached the eternal city and were shown to an italian barracks and later to the red cross quarters which were more satisfactory with a consuming desire to see the great city we were soon on our way to st peters and the vatican and there are many wonders which however i shall not hear attempt to describe in the morning of january 3rd we prepared to welcome the president our band and guard we learned with dismay were not considered by the italians to be necessary in the parade of welcome so this pleasure being denied them the boys planned a welcome of their own and the thin column of yanks attempted to break through the mass of people at via nacionale these spectators as scored deep were held off the street by a solid cordon of soldiers who reached from the station to the president's palace the soldiers seeing the americans endeavor to break through the line called for reinforcements but italy has neglected football in a few minutes the thin american column was over the line was reformed and was marching up amid the applause of the romans and the discomforture of the italian officers at the station the khaki-clad column formed its own cordon of welcome rome was in holiday attire this morning via nacionale the main business street was a blaze with italian and american flags and with standards of the italian provinces rome had not seen such crowds in days just before 10 a.m the cabinet members senators deputies general deus admiral de ravelle the american ambassador and other ambassadors arrived at the station followed shortly by the king of italy a fanfare of trumpet sounded as the train arrived and the star spangled banner was played king and president shook hands and the various presentations were made amid continuous and frenzied applause waving flags and handkerchiefs the party passed slowly down via nacionale to the quirinope palace which the italians had given over to the president the next morning the band in guard marched to the residents of the american ambassador thomas n page where president wilson was giving lunch into the italian king the band was to play during the meal and the honor guard at last was given a chance to honor the president about 12 30 p.m the shouts of the people who line the streets proclaimed the popularity and approach of the president as his party entered the courtyard the opening strains of the star spangled banner greeted him and he smiled broadly as he passed within a few minutes the king and queen of italy a rug followed by italian statesmen and high army officers among whom was general deus the idol of the italians the large dining table to which all repaired was beautifully decorated with huge clusters of red and white flowers at both ends of the hall the american and italian colors were hung side by side emblematic of the manner in which italian and american had stood throughout the great war so gloriously ended after the luncheon when the guests had departed someone remembered that the band and guard had not eaten and we were led to the same dining table used by the elite for the benefit of the rest of the regiment who were not present i give the menu roast pigeon steak cake ice cream champagne etc etc we'd expect it to remain in rome for several days but to our astonishment and disappointment we were ordered the next morning to get ready to take the noon train to traviso we'd seen enough of rome however to put firmly in our hearts the desire to return end of section eight section nine of italy with the 332nd infantry this is a libre vox recording all libre vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libre vox.org in italy with the 332nd infantry by joseph l letow section nine end of section nine chapter eight before returning to traviso let us peep at the third battalion at fiumi and the second battalion at cataro when the former horribly entrained at cormons they were taken to fiumi arriving there november 19th their duty was to aid in the international policing of this difficult territory fiumi since the armistice was jealously watched by both italy and the new jugoslav state the real issue was and is that the jugoslavs considered this port indispensable to their future while the italians think they should have fiumi as a reward for their share in the war this being understood it will be easier to comprehend what difficulties the americans labored under and the work in which they had no material interest after the third battalion detrained at fiumi the boys were forced to wait an hour before an italian officer presented himself to conduct them to their billets the reception of the people of the town seemed very diffident and it appeared to be an italian town from the number of italian flags flying no other flag was seen in the evening at a meeting presided over by the allied commander in italian general the american commanding officer was required to furnish two companies of americans the next morning for duty in two adjoining towns susak and terzad the men were to go armed no trouble was anticipated although the towns were held by troops of jugoslav nationality or persuasion early on the following morning k and m companies marched to an italian barracks and the italian general in command placed the two companies under two italian majors so that the american captains outranked had no authority this detestable practice of placing a higher italian officer over the highest ranking american officer present was a favorite play of the italians not content with this procedure a platoon was taken from each of the two american companies and placed under command of italian captains susak was then entered by two separate columns each led by an italian captain commanding an american platoon italian armored cars proceeded the infantry the remainder of the american companies were split up americans being placed in the italian companies under the command of italian officers the next move was to place the two american captains with the italian major thereby depriving them of all direct authority fortunately no trouble was encountered it seemed that the jugoslav people believed the american soldiers would be true to the principles enunciated by their president the other town trezzat was likewise occupied after which the americans were divided into small groups of from 10 to 20 men who were the same number of italians patrolled the two towns the americans immediately became friendly with the jugoslavs this was not pleasing to the italians but the american doboy bestows his friendship where he pleases these troops occupied this territory for several days then all but about 100 americans were withdrawn and on december 18 these men were called in as the inter-allied military police consisting of english italian and american soldiers were placed in charge fiumi is an old city having been known in roman times there is in fact a roman triumphant arch built by claudius the second the modern city of 39 000 population sits in a sort of amphitheater between the hills and the shore of the gulf of quarnera a large export business contributes largely to fiumi's prosperity as is evident from the war's warehouses and steamships to be seen here it is said that 7500 emigrants passed through fiumi in 1902 which makes fiumi the cosmopolitan town it is with such activities at its gate it is not surprising to see the many imposing public buildings such as the governor's palace the austrian emperor's palace and the many large schools and churches in the northwest part of the city there are fine public gardens is intimated above there are two parts of the town new fiumi and old fiumi new fiumi is a busy bustling place with wide clean streets which reminded the boys of american cities old fiumi however which is entered through a huge archway is different it contains most of the italian portion of the population and its dark odiferous covered alleys have a medieval air about them gloomy vaulted passages lead from one crooked street to another still more crooked and a walk through these strange byways was delightful and the surprises met at every step one saw first a bazaar then a market scene or an old monument and again a fountain or a dilapidated old door with a coat of arms at every turn as in italy there is a little dark odorous wine room but the crowd inside is always loud and happy with dances or dice games the shops in this quarter are open and front here is a corn dealer beside an old closed store while next door is an image maker nearby is a barber shop with its owner in the doorway sharpening his razor across the street is a macaroni shop and an artificial flower store the fine cafes of fiumi attract many americans for aside from their wares exquisite hungarian music was offered and its appealing strains were as enjoyable here as when translated to the american light opera stage it was no surprise therefore that the american soldiers fresh from the small towns of italy and the rigorous campaign should fall in love with fiumi especially since the yugoslavs tried to make life so pleasant for them the girls were very popular with the soldiers and before the battalion left fiumi there were several weddings the regimental band was sent for and on several nights dances were held which were greatly enjoyed at first the girls could not understand the american way of dancing but it was not long before they were one stepping and box trotting as if they had never danced otherwise in fact to hear the story from the lips of a third battalion soldier the young ladies of fiumi threw their hearts at the americans feet the american soldier in europe was particularly slow to take offense but once he was aroused he was as difficult to handle as a disturbed nest of hornets there were several street fights between americans and italians and the remarkable fact is that no one on either side was killed or even seriously injured since we have returned to america we have read of the scuffles between french and italians and fiumi and the results and casualties becomes evident therefore that our colonel was justified in complimenting the men of the 332nd on their gentlemanly conduct one of the stories concerning these fights is as follows an american was standing on the street talking with the jugoslav girl who wore the jugoslav colors on her waist an italian soldier came up and snatched the colors from her and threw them to the ground the american did what any red-blooded man would do he knocked the italian down at this several other italian soldiers came handcuffed the american placed him under arrest and took him to prison as soon as this became known to the american commanding officer he demanded the man's release the soldier was not only released but the italian general also insisted on apologizing for the italian soldier's mistake on another occasion so i heard the american lieutenant colonel who was in command of the americans in fiumi saw the flags of the allies flying in the air with the italian flag uppermost he therefore informed the italian commander that no flag was good enough to fly above the stars and stripes and the italian must have thought the same for the italian flag was soon placed at the same level as the other flags with company dances a minstrel show and the diversions offered by the town itself time was not heavy very little drilling was done just before christmas a detail of eight men was sent to tree stay where they were to assist an american colonel in checking food supplies which the civilian relief was sending into austria for the starving population they were engaged in this work for about two months as in tree stay so in fiumi the friendship between the doeboys and the gobs became very strong throughout their stay at fiumi american naval vessels were in or near the harbor of fiumi the english soldiers also became quite friendly with the americans as had been the case in traviso an interesting trip to vienna was made by four officers and 100 men who convoyed a trainload of flour to vienna of course american soldiers were curiosity in the austrian capital but they were well treated for had they not brought the flour which the austrian so sorely needed while in vienna permission was granted them to visit the emperor's palace a visit which was greatly enjoyed on the return to fiumi the train was stopped at an austrian winter resort where some of the americans had their first taste of skiing at last on february 12th the battalion rolled up its packs said goodbye in several languages to the weeping population of fiumi boarded its side door pullmans and set out for genoa they left heavy hearts behind them for the yugoslavs truly loved them and when they had gone i'm sure the yugoslavs realized that truer champions of pure ideals never wore the uniform of soldiers the trip by train took the boys through the battle scar fields of northern italy ending on february 15th at genoa where the battalion joined the first battalion at the hotel miramare end of section nine section ten from in italy with the 330 second infantry this is a libre vox recording all libre vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libre vox.org in italy with the 332nd infantry by joseph l letow chapter nine the second battalion in montenegro and dalmatia the reader will remember that the second battalion suddenly took its pup tents rolled up its packs and hastily departed from the regiment at itblis on november 12th 1918 the rumors said they were bound for montenegro the first portion of the journey was by trucks to maystreet which was reached at 2am november 13th the boys slept in the trucks until morning and at noon billets were assigned them on the 15th the platoon of jeep company departed for fiumi it is said that when the italians attempted to enter fiumi after the armistice was signed they saw so many yugoslav guns pointed their way that the expedition was called off until americans could be found to land first all felt sure that the slobs would not fire upon americans so the jeep company platoon led and the italians followed behind this shield the platoon remained in fiumi until the third battalion began to come in when they rejoined their company at zelenica on november 16th at 10 30 a.m the whole battalion having reached maystreet trains were boarded which took the troops to venice here after some hours the capture austrian red cross ship argentine received them and at 2 p.m november 18th the vessel moved out of the harbor of venice and proceeded down the adriatic to cataro dalmatia the ship docked here at noon on the 21st and the americans received a great welcome and band concert from the natifs matinegrin slobs serbs poles and austrians dalmatia is a narrow strip of land between the adriatic and the denartic alps cataro is situated between the matinegrin mountains and the poche de cataro a beautiful inlet of the adriatic and is the most important harbor on the dalmatian coast its population in 1900 was 3021 dalmatia like fiumi was a bone of contention between italy and the slobs besides after the armistice a revolution threatened in montenegro while we were never told why americans were sent to dalmatia the reason must lie in the above facts company f debarked at 3 p.m on the 22nd and was immediately ordered to satinye montenegro by the ever-present italian general companies eg h and detachments of headquarters machine gun supply and medical organizations landed on the 24th companies e and g boarded american sub chases and were taken down the bay about 15 miles to the town of zelenica in austrian submarine base company h and the detachments remained in cataro where battalion headquarters was established company f under its captain began the march over the mountains to the montenegro and capital a few miles away and route a battalion of italians joined the americans when near satinye the march was halted on account of the italians who had been refused admittance to satinye a few days before when they had promised to leave that vicinity now according to the theory of the boys at least they were attempting to use the americans as a shield to enter the capital and occupy it when the american captain saw how matters stood he made no attempt to lead his men into the city after remaining a few days outside satinye he decided to return and finally went to teodoro del machio where his company was billeted here the company was put to work dismantling austrian warships was a wonderful opportunity for enlarging one's souvenir collection and i understand the opportunity was not overlooked the duties assigned companies e and g at zelenica were quite different from f companies when they came into zelenica they found the filthiest spot in europe and as usual the characteristic american order to police up was given the barracks had been occupied by russian prisoners several of whom were found in the building dead between the barracks dead horses also were found and all about was filth and debris not content with making the town sanitary those of a mechanical bent made the necessary repairs to the water and electrical lighting plants and soon both conveniences were at their disposal the natives up in the nearby mountains were a playful lot many evenings in the exuberance of their feelings they celebrated by shooting machine guns no one ever accused them of aiming them but it happened that on several evenings a rain of bullets came into the town so the americans were sent up into the mountains to find the happy ones after much hiking the gun was found and the celebrating ceased besides these tests the warehouses were guarded and the peace of the town maintained the chance for recreation here as well at the odoro and cataram was very meager in this respect dalmatia offered a great contrast to fiumi now and then a game of basketball was played at cataro but on the whole time passed slowly until the mail service was established which helped considerably much has been said about the rations received by the boys in dalmatia and the balance of the regiment was inclined to brand the second battalion a lot of discontents however too many men of unquestionable character have said that the rations were far from normal to allow such an impression to remain in the words of an american major who investigated these alleged conditions this ration the standard ration fixed for american troops serving in the italian army as we were has not been issued to the united states troops his statement follows with the list of articles which were not issued he said the meat is of very inferior grade and it is sometimes diseased can meet as old some issues being put up in the year 1913 the issues of macaroni and of rice are frequently wormy several men were marked quarters because of the ragged condition of their uniforms and others wore raincoats on sunny days to cover their torn breeches some of the officers gave men their own clothes it has also been said that when the french soldiers came to cataro they would not believe that the ragged soldiers were americans many were marked quarters on account of their shoes and i have heard that one lad had boards tied to the bottom of his shoes to keep his feet off the earth these conditions especially regarding clothing were alleviated before the boys left dalmatia the impressions received by the boys were not flattering to the country it was dirty bill kept and contaminated they said the men were very lazy and the women did all the work that was done the men dressed up and sat in the wine or coffee rooms telling stories throughout the day the women were held as slaves and it was a common sight to see them descending the mountains with loads of wood upon their backs large enough for a mule to carry one day some of the boys were talking to a bridegroom of a month they asked him how he was getting along with his wife oh he replied quickly me get along fine now this wife supports me better than the first one did on another occasion a rainy day a man and a woman were walking along the street the man carried an umbrella over his precious self while his worthy spouse trotted along at his side in the rain carrying a large bundle of wood upon her back like the angst in every other section the second battalion was busy collecting souvenirs one sunday three machine gun men were taking apart a one-pound shell which they intended to carry home as a souvenir suddenly the shell exploded scattering deadly fragments two of the boys were badly torn while the wounds of the third were not so severe they were rushed to a serbian hospital where the american doctors performed operations upon them however despite every care one died the next day and another expired on the day following the third was removed to a red cross hospital and eventually recovered this event served to further sadden the already gloomy Christmas on january 7th 1919 company f was again ordered to continue to quell at disturbance between the followers of the former king and the adherents of the existing government the trip was full of excitement and some danger although the boys were inclined to view it as a comic opera revolution the americans had a delicate task to perform in attempting to stop a revolution without hurting anyone's feelings while they marched over the mountain road shots were heard up in the craggy mountain sides the captain was leading his company in a captured austrian automobile and in advancing the car got between the fire of the two rival groups later a flag of truce was waived which was immediately greeted with shots but finally the truce was affected at a meeting attended by the rival leaders the revolution has gladly accepted an offer of safe conduct to their homes they were also given employment at catara unloading food supplies from american ships thus the comic opera revolution came to an end and the stalwart natives dressed in their peculiar black hats with a red top huge blue trousers stopping at the knees and high boots gaily waved american flags and cheered the doughboys many of them had been to america so that they spoke some english the americans in fact were held in such esteem that the natives sent a deputation to the american commande officer with a request that he rule over montenegro until a new government was set up company f returned to its station after its romantic adventure where it cooperated with the french and syrian troops in policing that territory sometime before the boys left montenegro the small detachment of americans were sent to brindisi italy crossed the adriatic from catara and through the assistance of these men supplies came regularly to the battalion no more exciting events took place and the boys settled down to the dull wait for the glad day when the order would come that would release them from dalmatia that last early in march the good word came and on the fifth the battalions said goodbye to the beautiful but gloomy dalmatian coast and after four days on the sea joined the first and third battalions at genoa end of section 10 section 11 of in italy with the 332nd infantry this is a libre vox recording all libre vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libre vox.org in italy with the 332nd infantry by joseph l letow traviso to genoa upon returning from rome we found traviso to be the same old muddy rainy town from the splendors of rome to old traviso was a far cry but after all traviso was home to us everything so far as going home in the daily routine were concerned was the same as before our departure the red cross nurses at padua made a few evenings happy for doe boys by having dances and luncheons there and the nurses of base hospital number 102 at viscensa helped to keep the officers from losing their grace and conversational faculties in the middle of january we understood that our divisional commander was coming to inspect us and this appeared to be an omen of an early departure however we waited in vain besides these few entertainments and occasional trips to nearby cities the boys had nothing to do but eat chestnuts and sample unknown venus the band helped with an occasional concert and the why with movies now and then field hospital number 331 which had come with us from france was situated a few miles from traviso and a large hospital building the health of the boys was again very good and the task of caring for the sick was not great the most serious cases were sent to base hospital number 102 located in historic viscensa despite the fact that the nurses at this hospital were forced to take walks to keep warm because of the lack of fuel this hospital in charge of the army nurse corps was very popular with the 332nd on the 10th of february the adjutant entered our office would be straight in the eye and exclaimed you're leaving for genoa tomorrow genoa a seaport we in the office looked at each other with shining faces for genoa spelled h-o-m-e-t us after further conversation with the adjutant i learned that six of us were going as an advance party to assist in billeting our troops when they arrived in genoa we started immediately and reached milan the next morning after a cold sleepless night in the little compartment and learned at the english transportation office that a train left for genoa at 12 45 p.m. that gave us about five hours to get a wash a warm meal and left enough time to visit the venerable cathedral and the lovely galeria vittoria our route lay along the Mediterranean coast the beauties of craggy mountain and blue sea were before us except only now and then when they were interrupted by the eternal tunnels without which it seems one cannot travel 10 miles in italy we felt that we were going to enjoy our stay at genoa which was reached about 6 p.m. wondering where we were going to spend the night we were overjoyed to see two sergeants of the third battalion advance party who had come to meet us the stately hotel miramate came into view as we turned the corner from the station high up on the hillside this massive stone structures stood a fine-looking hotel and a work of art the desire to see its interior helped us climb the steep hill and when we stood within its marble reception hall and saw its magnificence we were fearful that a mistake had been made we could not believe that dough boys were to have this palace for their billet the rooms were stripped of beds carpets and furniture but there were hundreds of mattresses and sheets sheets for the 330 second was astounding upstairs we found suites of rooms with baths attached it was too much we took our blankets from our packs and fell into the beds provided by our thoughtful friends we spent the next day in obtaining the capacity of the hotel that meant how many of the single mattresses being carried in by the Italian soldiers could be put down side by side in a room on the second day in genoa february 13th as i sat upon the balcony of the hotel writing a letter i had to remove my blouse because of the hot sun looking up from the letter i saw the blue Mediterranean stretching away in the distance and nearer as one looks from the sea to the land behind genoa rises on the hillsides like an amphitheater with the harbor as the stage the buildings of the city are of stone and the castles and other fort like structures silhouetted against the clear blue italian sky make an unforgettable picture these structures are several hundred feet above my position while the street is at least 150 feet below in the hotel garden are spreading palms and other tropical trees few days later all of the first and third battalions had arrived via train and we were at home in our new quarters the elite miramarae which it was said had once entertained the emperor of germany now presented a strange appearance doboy slept in every corner in which a mattress could be placed in the rooms and the hallways but even those who slept in the hallways were happy for was this not their last italian billet the companies each day took hikes across the city to the charming lido where a small amount of drilling was done in the offices especially the personnel the work was very heavy and everyone was anxious to be ready when the word came to board the ship however all had time to explore genoa the superb during these sunny days which were such a delightful change from foggy rainy traviso we found opera houses good restaurants and cabarets here was the opera season and many enjoyed old favorites such as lucía de la mamor and el trovatore as well as lesser known ones such as the mast ball and the laurel a the singers were very good naturally it was much easier to live in genoa since it was a fair size city with the diversions of the modern city along with the good however there was all the immorality of a large city to which genoa was no exception besides on the 2nd of february a party of 50 men were given passes to roam on february 28th the regiment was presented with a beautiful large flag of st george by the genoese the colonel received a gold medal several officers received silver ones and about a hundred men received bronze ones on march 1st a few of the much looked for insignias or shoulder patches arrived since the regiment was on detached service in italy we were permitted to select our own insignia and the lion of st mark was chosen because our time had been spent chiefly in the old venetian territory a gold lion of st mark with its paws holding the book on which was inscribed in gold 332 all on a red background made up this brilliant insignia destined to be the most admired in the entire aef a walk about genoa reveals many beautiful palaces and churches the galleries of these palaces contain some of the finest paintings in the world such artists as titian van dyke morillo guido ranny rubens and titoreto being represented in the palacio bianco or memorials of columbus along which are photos of his letters here is also the violin of the famous paganini of the churches the bizantine black and white san lorenzo founded in the 10th century is most noteworthy one of the side altars is very pretty and among its treasures is a small marble casket said to contain the remains of st john the baptist women are allowed in this chapel only one day of the year in the choir are notable seats of inlaid wood one of which the guide said had been paganinis genoa having been the birthplace of columbus a marble statue of the great discoverer was erected in 1862 in the piazza aqua verde the remains of the house in which he was born about 1451 is still visible and is but five minutes walked from the center of the city during the last few days the mail from home had brought newspaper clippings describing the alleged terrible conditions under which the 332nd was living especially a catara a congressman having in his possession letters from members of the regiment describing these conditions had charged on the floor of the house of representatives that the boys were forced to steal food and were without decent clothes etc close on the heels of the arrival of these papers a colonel from general headquarters france had reported to our regiment for the purpose of investigating these charges this he proceeded to do by examining several hundred men individually on the day that i was enjoying the art of genoa the non-commissioned officers were called together and addressed by the headquarters colonel concerning the reports reaching america he deplored the scandal and when he finished the boys were thinking the same as he was unfortunately upon completing his talk he left the room it is too bad that he did not remain to hear the regimental colonel whose language would have edified him when that officer finished the boys were in a worse mood than when they entered general was mild during march and ball games and boxing matches were in order saturday afternoons at the lethal on the evening of the second our band and about 300 men attended a celebration held at the opera house for the purpose of welcoming home to genoa several battalions of genoese who had fought bravely in france a few days later several hundred american military police came into italy from france until this time we had no mps other than our own and no one but a soldier can appreciate their absence they're coming however relieved our men at roam who joined us on the sixth every american i carefully scanned the harbor one day like came each day for we knew our ship would one day steam into the harbor one day the geosepe verde entered port in traviso we had heard of the ship as being the one that would take us home however on the sixth of march the verdi steamed away and the boys settled back to their usual routine with heavy hearts on the seventh of march after several weeks of negotiating we were notified that 50 of the regiment could go to the mentin leave area for a week end of section 11 section 12 of in italy with the 332nd infantry this is a libre vox recording while libre vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libre vox.org in italy with the 332nd infantry by joseph l letow chapter 11 genoa reunited after a most enjoyable week at wonderful montecarlo and a safer turn to genoa we were enthusiastically greeted at the miramarre with the news that we were leaving for home in three days on the steamer ducata osta which lay in the harbor the second battalion to come in while we had been away so that the regiment was again united the second was being investigated and we sincerely hope that nothing would develop that would detain us we welcome the investigation but preferred it on the other side of the atlantic however our joy suddenly died for on the 18th we received a telegram from general headquarters france that our departure was indefinitely postponed all efforts to obtain a release were fruitless and on the morning of the 19th general mcandrews pershing's chief of staff and general o'connor chief of staff of the service of supplies arrived their coming meant something serious we were sure some felt that ghq regarded the 332nd as culprits and that we were to be sent to the labor battalions in france then there was the ever-present trouble in fiumi and neighboring territory and we feared that our regiment had been selected to return to that troubled land the suspense while terrible was short for at 2 30 p.m all officers commissioned and non-commissioned were called out upon the hotel balcony general mcandrews i believe complimented the non-coms on the appearance of our quarters and we began to breathe easier then he said that our scheduled sailing had been a mistake officers who had been sent to italy to prepare the regiment for its sailing thought the steamships in january were for the 332nd regiment therefore arrangements were made and everyone was preparing for the homeward voyage he was sorry the mistake had been made but we could not depart even on order from general pershing for a fate lay in the hands of the supreme war council he said we would have to await our turn settling down once more to an indefinite stay with the best frame of mind possible the boys eagerly took advantage of the company dances arranged by the american girls in genoa some dances were held in the ducal palace once the residents of the doges of genoa the music was furnished by an excellent orchestra recruited from the band members since our departure was thus indefinitely postponed passes were issued to men of italian birth and to those of greek birth permission was given to visit greece negotiations were soon underway to send a party of 50 to roam and the same number to mentin on the 25th of march 50 men left for each place suddenly on march 26th we received word that we were released and would sail on march 28th and 29th the second battalion k and m companies and detachments of the medical supply and machine gun companies and base hospital 102 were to leave first on the canopic regimental headquarters the first battalion eye company field hospital 331 and detachments of the medical machine gun and supply companies were to go on the duke the hosta march 29th no company with detachments were to remain a few days to conclude all business and to pick up any men returning from leaves at this time we had men scattered all over europe and telegrams were dispatched to them all except those who went to greece seceded and returning in time to go on one of the three ships the canopic left genoa on the 28th of march amid cheers but the departure of the duke was made the principal event because the ship was to carry the colonel those companies which were to go on the duke the hosta march through the gaily bedec streets of genoa amid great applause finally arriving at the crowded dock we file the board and as each man walked up the gang plank his arms were filled with boxes containing cigarettes candy and cookies given by the red cross ymca and knights of columbus the docks were crowded with genoese who faithful to the end had come to say goodbye to their american friends as the ship began to move all the whistles in the harbor shrieked people wave their hands and kerchiefs and they called after the ship their eyes dimmed with tears genoa will always be remembered by the 332nd with love and admiration the genoese more than any italian people strove to show their friendship the opera and the presentation of medals and flag and the general manner of treatment were all sides of an appreciative community end of section 12 section 13 of in italy with the 332nd infantry this is a libre vox recording while libre vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libre vox.org in italy with the 332nd infantry by joseph l letow chapter 12 from genoa to ohio the journey from genoa to gibraltar consumed about 40 hours since we reached the rock about 10 am march 31st a library aboard ship afforded the means of recreation to many while to others it proved interesting to watch the porpoises race and play at the prow of the ship as we fed through the water then there were others who refused to be amused the ship's crew evidently had been spoiled by caring american soldiers before for various bribes were necessary before the proper amount of food could be obtained in at least the second class dining room with the exception of a few sick men i never heard any of the third class passengers complaining of too much to eat or of too great a variety arriving in the spacious harbor of gibraltar we did not dock but cast anchor until such time as the ship could be cold a few rods to our left was the famous rock of gibraltar there were at least a hundred other vessels at anchor in the splendid harbor one of these was the canopic which had left genoa the day before us she had stopped at marseille but had reached gibraltar before us and the next day when we moved into the cold dock we found the canopic alongside us on the morning of the third half of those aboard the two vessels were sent ashore to walk through gibraltar we were glad of a chance to get on land and glad of an opportunity to see the city but we were compelled to remain in ranks every moment we were off the ship at any rate we enjoyed the much needed exercise and also obtained a glimpse of a unique cosmopolitan city of gibraltar it seemed from the slight acquaintance to be a very up-to-date city all of the houses are built of stone and one obtains the impression of cleanliness our shore leave was limited to a walk through the main street and the return when the other half of the men made the trip on the day that we were ashore the vessel was being cold by hand on the morning of april 4th at 730 we moved out of the harbor on our left we could see the rocky shores of africa nothing could be distinguished except the mountains over which hung a particularly dark purple haze on our right lay the green hills of spain and the dark clouds cast a shadow over the hills but where there was a break between two clouds the sun shone through and the little white roofs of the stone house is sparkled as if a spotlight played upon them we soon passed the last point of land and were again upon the broad atlantic the consequent rocking of the ship which we now saw was a very different boat from the stately aquitania disturbed the feelings of many the weather also was colder than we had been experiencing on april 9th we encountered what we thought was quite a storm the waves rushed over the deck rails and those adventurous spirits who loved to stand in the bow of the ship and allow the water to spray upon them were ordered inside the vessel rolled and pitched in standing in the bow of the boat and looking back it was curious to watch the vessel twist about almost like a stretched letter s since passing the azores on the seventh each morning the seemingly everlasting expanse of water met our eyes we grew very tired of the voyage and heartily wished for land to appear we seemed to be making little progress our speed being about 15 or 16 miles an hour on the 12th the sea again became very rough and during the night a heavy fog descended upon us making necessary the weird cry of the foghorn upon awakening the next morning we were relieved to see that the fog had lifted all this day we watched eagerly for land and at last at 4 45 p.m the shore of long island was visible as we drew near our destination we were in time to witness a sunset behind the jersey hills more beautiful to us than all of Italy's boasted sunsets later as we passed up the lane marked by buoys the lights of the statue of liberty lighted and a mighty cheer rose on the air we cast anchor inside the harbor and slept in the shadow of America once again it was a most happy night in the morning April 14th 1919 the quarantine vessel visited us found everything okay and in a few hours we were back at camp merit which we had left some 10 months before here we performed a disagreeable duty namely going through the delousing process upon entering the delousing building we placed all of our clothes and wire baskets which were then collected and put into a machine this steam and heat producing machine was guaranteed to effectually put out of existence all cooties etc which had per chance survived the journey across the Atlantic while their clothes were thus being cleansed we ourselves bathe so that when we were finished with this bath our clothes dried and also hopelessly wrinkled awaited us being now clean and acceptable we were permitted to move to a respectable section of the camp and proceed to the business of getting out of the army as rapidly as possible there were canteens pack carriers clothes and so forth to be checked and turned in and work on these matters was started immediately the rifles were to be kept for parades the officers were like mad houses because of the hurry the canopic arrived on the night of the 14th and the Dante Alighieri with the last of the regiment came in on the 18th on this last ship there were four young women from fiumi who had married americans passes were given freely and practically everyone in the regiment enjoyed a visit to new york city on the 21st the 332nd infantry formed at washington square new york and marched up fifth avenue passing thousands of cheering friends and environs at the head of the regiment besides its commanding officer and his staff wrote general gugliel mote royal military attache to the italian embassy at washington and his staff included in the parade were old garibaldi veterans and representatives of new york's italian societies upon arriving at 102nd street the parade passed into central park where mayor highland welcomed the men to new york and america following this the royal council general of italy in new york senior tritone presented a gold medal to the regiment general gugliel mote then rehearsed the history of the deeds of the regiment in italy and the regiment's commanding officer replied for the regiment after these ceremonies the regiment proceeded to the 69th regiment armory where refreshments were served a few days later the news reached us at camp that the pennsylvania men in the regiment were to be sent to camp dicks to receive their discharges there so that on april 22nd we bid farewell to approximately 150 men from new castle pennsylvania most of whom had been in headquarters company several officers and the regular army enlisted men parted with us here on the 24th the regiment marched to dumont board at the trains and were soon enroute to dear old ohio however instead of going direct to camp sherman we stopped at cleveland for a parade the first section reached cleveland in the morning of the 25th followed by the other sections all of which arrived during the day practically all of the nearby towns such as youngstown acron and canton had procured special trains for the relatives and friends of the regiment so that during the day those loved ones who had been separated for a year met and embraced one another once more it was a happy day for many on the 26th the regiment paraded and again as in new york upheld its reputation as being one of the best marching organizations of the aef after the parade the sons of italy once more endeavored to show their appreciation by presenting the regiment with a silver cup at central armory the entire regiment was banqueted and the boys declared it was the most delicious meal they had since they left home during the remainder of the day everyone was free to visit until about 7 p.m when the first section moved out of cleveland toward that haven camp sherman where the coveted honorable discharge was to be received april 27th at 4 a.m was a cold and disagreeable day as we allied it from our tourist cars at the camp and were led to our last army home for several days we were busy turning in equipment and preparing final records at the termination of these various duties the red discharge chevrons the finest of them all we thought were distributed beginning on may 2nd the first companies of the regiment received their discharge papers on the third several more went through this process and by the evening of the fifth the entire regiment had been discharged and its members had arrived at the enviable rank of mister no time was lost in boarding the special train for columbus home loved ones and civilian life today a few months later the old days and adventures seem like dreams and while few would care to go through the same hardships and experiences again not one of the regiment i dare say regrets the days he wore the uncockable khaki of uncle sam in the proud line of saint mark finney end of section 13 end of in italy with the 332nd infantry by jl letow