This was the other end of the group of volunteers which made up the three Sections 606, 607 and 608, sponsored by the Portland, Maine Athletic Club. We have received reports from 606 and 608, but no word covering 607, so it would appear that the time spent at Camp Crane took its toll with the middle section.

Records show that Section 608, made up of men from the Maine areas around Bangor and Portland, arrived in Allentown on June 12, 1917. They were led by Dr. Folsom, who later was to become Major Folsom in command of their contingent Section 608 had as their first commander, Lt. Woodward W. Gunkle. They made up a special contingent, sailing on the British liner Olympic on March 28, 1918.

The Section landed at Brest, in France, and went to Paris, where they served under Captain Kipling, who was in charge of all ambulance work at the American Red Cross Hospital No. 1. Section 608 first used Panhard ambulances, formerly used by the French Army, but later were equipped with the regulation Fords. The Section does not report the divisions they served at the Front. They saw plenty of action in the following sectors: Belfort, Nancy, Chalon Sur Marne, Chateau Thierry and Pont a Mousson. Their commander in some of these areas, was Lt. Louis M. Quinn, a former member of the American Field Service.

The Section served in the Army of Occupation, moving through Metz, Longwy, and to Koblenz on the Rhine. They were relieved in late April or early May, and sailed for home on the U.S.S. St. Louis, May 23, 1919. They were discharged at Camp Dix, N.J. on June 4, 1919. We seem to recall some men from Maine in one of the Kernell-Fechheimer shows, but then they might have taken part in the special show, on the way home, aboard the St. Louis, "From Brest to Broadway."

Recruited on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana, a large unit of men enlisted on June 15, 1917, with assurances they would be driving ambulances in France by the end of July. The call for the group to entrain for the training camp at Allentown, went out on July 1, 1917. After a very tiring trip, by way of Buffalo, N.Y., they arrived early on July 4, at the Fairgrounds, where a track meet was scheduled for the big holiday. One of the men had strength enough to enter the competition for the University of Illinois, and won a race. The larger group was split into three sections, namely- 609, 610 and 611.

At first, Section 609 was housed in tents, and took part in hikes, including the trench and mud warfare experiences at Guth Station. Two early commanders were Lt. Sewers and Lt. V. O. Heddens. Section 609 became a part of Major Metcalfe's contingent and went overseas on the S.S. Carmania, January 9, 1918. Land was sighted on January 23, and the ambulanceers stepped ashore at Liverpool on January 24, 1918. After a ride by train, they came to Morn Hill Camp, Winchester, England. The men in the Section took in the interesting buildings around Winchester, the castle and cathedral. Entrained for Southampton, February 3, and boarded S.S. Ceasaria, and sailed after dark. Worked as stevedores for two days at Le Havre, France, and then took a box car to St. Nazaire, and had their real introduction to "sunny" France's mud.

On March 17, 1918, they saw some more of France, by box car, and ended up at the base camp at Ferrières en Gatinais. They were billeted in an old Abbey. They then moved on to Rue Ganneron on April 15, 1918, and were stationed there, assembling and repairing ambulances until July 14, when they were ordered to Vitry-le-Francois and to Chalons. On July 21, some French officers and sous-chefs joined the section, and they were ordered to proceed to Beauvais, France.

Section 609 was now entering the real fighting sectors. They moved first into the Aisne-Marne offensive, July 18 to August 6, 1918; the Somme offensive, August 8 to September 25, 1918; and finally the Champagne-Meuse-Argonne offensive, September 26 to October 29, 1918. Their commander at this time was Lt. Archibald Dudgeon, a former member of the American Field Service.

The records show some casualties from gas. Eight individuals received Croix de Guerres for bravery. The Section served the 39th French Division in and around Nancy, following the Armistice. They were relieved and returned to Brest Base Camp, sailing for home May 6, 1919 on the U.S.S. Rhode Island. They landed at Boston, and were discharged at Camp Devens, Mass.

Even before the United States declared war in April 1917, the University of Illinois was active in recruiting volunteer ambulance units to serve the French Army. Several units had been financed earlier for the American Field Service. A larger group was recruited on the campus at Urbana, Illinois, shortly after the United States entered the war, and they were ordered to report to the training camp at Allentown, Pennsylvania. They arrived by train on July 4, 1917, just in time to participate in the entertainment scheduled for the holiday celebration, which included a camp personnel track meet. All men were entered, and scoring was kept on the basis of their college or university affiliation. As reported elsewhere, competition was keen and the University of Michigan won the meet. However, it is interesting to note that even after a two or three day tiresome train ride, one of the Illinois men entered an event and took first place.

The larger group were billeted in tents, on arrival at the Fairgrounds. They were then split into three regulation ambulance units and assigned as Sections 609, 610 and 611. They entered into all camp activities, including drilling, hikes, athletics, entertainment, and even the Guth Station encampment. Their commander was originally Lt. Langford, M.C., but was replaced later, when all M.D's were in demand. He was replaced by Lt. Percival Roberts.

Section 611 was selected for an interim contingent which sailed for France. They boarded the S.S. Olympic, March 26, 1918, and went over in style, compared with some other crossings which have been reported. The Section landed at Brest, France on April 4, 1918 and entrained for St. Nazaire, where they did the usual stevedore stint and wrestled the crates around on the beaches. They assembled some ambulances. However Section 611 went into Paris by train, and suffered the usual cut in personnel. The Section then picked up their Ford ambulances at Rue Ganneron, and drove to the base camp at Ferrières en Gatinais. From there the report shows that, they were attached to the U.S. 35th Division in a defensive sector. Later they were attached to the U.S. 77th Division in the Oise-Aisne offensive July to September. Section 611 (later called the Bloody 611) followed their division (the U.S. 77th) into the Meuse-Argonne offensive September 26 to November 9, 1918. The jump-off point was at Le Four de Paris, September 26. They moved steadily forward to Chevières, St. Juvin and Grandpre, between Oct. 14 and Oct. 31. Then their division shifted to the east, after crossing the Aire River. It was during the early part of this drive that the Section picked up the nick-name of the 'Bloody 611." The Section worked around the clock, taking care of the wounded and sick from the division. A group of the men of 611 were resting in a farm house, not far from the scene of the pocket, from which they rescued the men from the 77th Division. A picture taken of the 611 men by the Signal Corps was later used by General Pershing in one of his war books, and also in a book entitled, "Without Censor."

Section 611 was relieved on November 9, 1918, just two days before the Armistice, on the banks of the Meuse, in front of Mouzon.

After a short rest period, Section 611 was sent to the St. Quentin-Amiens area to help in the rehabilitation work from November 1918 to April 1919. They returned to Brest in April, and sailed for home on the U.S.S. Rhode Island, May 6, 1919. The Section was broken-up at Camp Devens. Mass., some being discharged there May 19, 1919, while others in the original Illinois group were discharged at Camp Grant, May 26, 1919.

This Illinois section contributed a large number of men to the USAAC orchestra and to the cast and chorus of the show, "Let's Go!" staged in France in 1919. The show traveled to all centers of American troop concentration, including the "permission" areas at Aix les Bains and on the Riviera.

We regret that there is only a very sketchy report on this section which had its origin at Texas University. They were recruited at the campus in Austin, Texas, and ordered to proceed to the training camp at Allentown, Pa. The original number of men in the unit was small, and was led to the Fairgrounds by a sergeant. On arrival they were augmented by casuals at the camp and established as Section 612. Their first billeting quarters were the horse cooling sheds, and maybe, of all the university men arriving at the camp, early in the summer of 1917, these men took more kindly toward this environment into which they were thrown at the Fairgrounds.

Section 612 records show that they had two commanders in their short span of existence, namely, Lt. Jones and Lt. Wolf. As Texans are known to want to get on with the job at hand, they did not like the long wait which developed into more drill, more hikes, Guth Station, and back again to Camp Crane. Each move took its toll of good Texas fighting men, and by December 1917, so many had transferred to other sections, or into other branches of the Armed Forces, that Section 612 was finally dissolved. Many acts of bravery of these men can be found in the reviews of other sections.

It is reported that this section went over in November 1918 on the White Star Liner "Celtic." (Just to keep the temperatures down in those men who served in the Headquarters at Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa., under Section Number 617 and went to Genoa, Italy, on the good ship Giuseppe Verdi, your researcher can only report the following.) The men who went to Italy were assigned to the Headquarters Detachment. The men remaining with Colonel Slee at Camp Crane, Allentown Headquarter, were made into Section 617 (we are told), and sent over to France to be replacements for sections working with the French or American Armies of Occupation. It is reported that Section 617 was in charge of Sergeant J. Cory Johnson, until they reached Ferrières. He took command there, and where they were assigned we have no record. We do know they returned as Section 617 on the U.S.S. St. Louis, sailing May 23, 1919, under the command of Lt. O. W. Harrah, M.C.

We are indebted to our reviewer of Section 617 for the copy of the program of the Memorial Day ceremony given on board the U.S.S. Saint Louis on May 30, 1919. This followed the show, "From Brest to Broadway," staged on May 29.

This section was made up of men who had attended the Rahe Army Mechanics School in North Kansas City, Missouri, and ordered to Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa. in the summer and fall of 1918. The report received on this section was from a man who went over to France with Section 620 and on arrival in the base camp at Ferrières en Gatinais, he was transferred into Section 619. The contingent of USAACs, which was ordered to France as replacements, was in command of Captain Hunter. Each section was in charge of a sergeant, until they were assigned a commanding officer at the base camp.

Section 619 left for France on the S.S. Celtic on November 11, 1918, and landed in England, November 24, 1918. On November 29, they went to the base camp in France for their ambulances, and spent a few weeks in training. They were then assigned to a French division or Army corps in the Army of Occupation. Section 619 went to a base at Kirchheimbolanden, Germany. They served in this area until relieved in April or early May 1919. The Section returned on the U.S.S. St. Louis, under command of Captain A. E. Anderson, M.C.

This was one of the later sections to have been formed from "Casuals" assembled at Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa., during the summer of 1918. Orders had been received to send these sections over to France, as replacements for those sections which had served since 1917, and who were working with their division, French and American, in the Army of Occupation.

Section 620 was commanded first by Lt. Linsay Moore, and then by Lt. Percival Roberts. They left after the Armistice was signed on the S.S. Celtic. The report covering some sections in this contingent indicate they landed in England, and from there went to France, arriving at the base camp at Ferrières en Gatinais around November 29, 1918. After a few weeks of training and receiving their Ford ambulances, the section went to Selestat in the Alsace-Lorraine sector, and served with the French Army. In the spring of 1919, Section 620 as relieved by French ambulance drivers, and returned to the base camp at Brest.

Section 620, together with 605, was in command of Lt. Ralph Witmer, on the return trip to America. They sailed on the U.S.S. Saint Louis, on May 23, 1919, and were discharged at Camp Dix, N.J. on June 11, 1919.

This was one of the early Provisional sections organized in Paris with men who came to France in the first contingent. Twenty sections were selected to go overseas with Colonel Percy L. Jones, who had been named Chief of Service. Section 649 was a merger of members of the original University of Tennessee Section 517 and men from New York University Sections 592, 593 and 594.

These sections went through the first few confused weeks at the Fairgrounds camp, being billeted in the horse stalls, and others in the swine or sheep exhibition buildings. They were conditioned by many hikes and plenty of drilling. As a part of Captain Chaudron's Battalion, which took honors on Bastille Day, they were awarded a battalion flag by the French Ambassador. It was no surprise then, for them to be selected in the first contingent which sailed from Hoboken on August 7, 1917 on the S.S. San Jacinto. Lt. Thomas D. Hurley was in command of Section 517 and Lt. Albert E. Small commanded Section 593. They landed at St. Nazaire, August 21, 1917, and went directly to Paris. The men selected from these two sections were then sent to the American hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine, and with a few former early volunteer service men, were organized into Section 649 on November 12, 1917.

During the early days, as a Provisional unit, they had been commanded by Lt. F. W. Simonds, A.A.S., Lt. H. A. Innes Brown, S.C., and finally by Lt. Jack B. Kendrick, M.T.C.

The activities of Section 649, at first, were in Paris where they were connected with the American Red Cross Hospital #1, from Nov. 12, 1917 to April 20, 1918. They were cited by the French Army for their work in evacuating the injured at the time of the great explosion at a factory at La Courneuve, March 15, 1918.

They were assigned to the U.S. First Division, working with the 10th French Army on April 21, 1918. They supported the 35th U.S. Division for one week, in late September to October 2, 1918, then went back to Soissons with the U.S. First Division, which was relieved by the Black Watch, Argyles and Camerons, but Section 649 stayed and served them. They were reassigned to the 10th French Army and went with the Army of Occupation to the Rhine River, going through Metz to Mainz, Wiesbaden and Greisham.

The Section was cited by the First U.S. Division for their work at Cantigny and at the second Battle of the Marne. They were cited by the 35th Division and thirty individuals were awarded Croix de Guerres. They were relieved on May 15, 1919 and sailed for home May 20, 1919 on the S. S. H. R. Mallory. The men were discharged at Camp Dix, N.J. on May 31, 1919.

No one can refute the statement that this section represented the Paris Headquarters. It would be nearly impossible to review all their activities from the beginning to the end. All we can report is that the section was organized in Paris, or on the S.S. San Jacinto, from the nucleus of men from many sections comprising the first contingent, supplemented by the men loaned, in the formative stages, who had been working in the American Field Service offices in Paris. It has been stated before that no provision had been made, in the movement of the sections from Allentown to France, to provide personnel for the headquarters. The liaison with Commandant Doumenc, in the French Headquarters, was maintained by Lt. Colonel Andrew and Major Galatti.

Section 650 included all men on duty at the Headquarters office and all subdivisions. This involved motor transport, quartermaster, statistical, promotions and morale, attending surgeon, inspection, shipping and post office activities. Headquarters was also responsible for the repair Parc within Paris, and the barracks-garage at 21 Rue Ganneron.

We like the statement written by Basil Walters in the Ambulance Service News, so we feel it should be repeated again here, as applied to the work of Section 650: "In this war, more than ever before, the man behind the man behind the gun has played a most important role. To alter the simile, the headquarters, in a sense are, the men behind the men behind the wheels."

As part of this review it seems appropriate to acknowledge the fact that Section 650 had the time, energy and skill to perfect a baseball team to represent the Ambulance men in the AEF League. They won their Section A Championship, only to lose in the elimination game in Paris.

Immediately after the establishment of the Army Ambulance Service Headquarters in Paris, steps were taken to procure a suitable site for a base camp. This was the place where all ambulance sections came to receive final instruction, medical supplies, in many cases their ambulances (those that were not assembled by the sections at their arrival base camp) and their assignments to the Front.

The first base camp at Sandricourt, about 21 miles northwest of Paris, soon proved inadequate and the new location selected was in February 1918. This was about 50 miles south of Paris, at Ferrières en Gatinais. The commander was Major Hunter, who had as his Adjutant, Lt. Louis W. Kaner. The permanent personnel at this base camp was known as Section 670, and varied in number from 150 to 200 men. The base camp had to be able to handle about 2000 men passing through to the Front, as sections, or as a pool for replacements. We assume that most of the men of the United States Ambulance Service went through Ferrières, either on their way to the Front or on the way home.

It is reported that this unit was organized at Camp Crane in May 1918--- which really was the date that the War Department had approved the formation of another Evacuation Ambulance Company, using the available men then in training at Allentown--- but it was to come into existence after the Italian Contingent had left, and Colonel Richard Slee had become the camp Commandant. The officer placed in charge was the present Provost Marshall, who wanted to get on with the job he had volunteered to do.

So, Lt. William Herbits became commander of E.A.C. No. 6 .He gathered together a motley gang of recruits, not all good soldiers, part from the South and part from the North. After a brief training period, they sailed for France on the S.S. Orizaba, a banana boat of ancient vintage.

E.A.C. 6 landed at Brest, and traveled by train to La Pallice, just north of La Rochelle, across the channel from the Ile de Re. They remained at this camp about ten days, during which their equipment was assembled. The unit drove to the area of Chateau Thierry, and went immediately into service in the Marne sector, for two weeks. They were ordered to Neufchateau, and after a short rest they moved on to Souilly.

During the great offensive of the American First and Second Armies, in its own division of the Western Front, there was unlimited demand for the work of the Evacuation Ambulance Company. The importance of their work in keeping the lines of activity open between the dressing station, the triage, the field hospital, and the base hospital, was well known. In fact, the E.A.C. unit often was caught, in the case of counter attacks, serving along with the ambulance section attached to a particular division.

E.A.C. No. 6 remained in the Souilly area until the St. Mihiel salient offensive had been completed; then moved to Varennes, in the Verdun sector, and followed the Meuse-Argonne offensive until the signing of the Armistice. Their work continued long after the fighting stopped, and E.A.C. 6 moved with the French Fifth Army, as part of the Army of Occupation, through the lower tip of Belgium, Luxembourg and finally to Wittlich, Germany on the banks of the Moselle River.

The Commander of E.A.C. No. 6 had applied for entrance to the Sorbonne University in Paris, but such a cry went up from the members of the unit, that he had to change his plans. E.A.C.6 continued to serve in the area until relieved in May 1919, when they returned to Brest, and sailed for home. They landed at Newport News, Va., and the company was broken up at this point, some men getting their discharge sat Camp Lee, others at Camp Dix, N.J.

The organization known as Evacuation Ambulance Company was covered in Chapter Two and therefore we can understand why the place of assembly was Allentown. Old No. 7 was made up of men from ambulance sections still at the camp and it "was born on March 18, 1918." Its roster of thirty-seven men and commanding officer included men from all parts of the country and they were selected from the best of Sections 508, 566, 569, 589, 605, 610 and casuals. The Company did everything the regular ambulance sections had been doing and a little bit more. They were able to drive their ambulances which had been assembled at camp and learned much more about the cars than most of the sections for overseas duty had before them. As their "Memoirs" says: "All in all Camp Crane days are not hard to look back upon. Even though they did have to shoulder a pack until it burned, pass in review, suffer guard mount, and wilt under endless inspections."

Lt. Mac L. Leach assembled Co. 7 on July 8, 1918 and marched them to the Lehigh Valley R.R. for the trip to Hoboken where they boarded the old S.S. Orizaba. At 6 p.m. on July 9, they steamed out of New York Harbor to pick up the other ships in their convoy. The other ships were La France, America, Agamemnon and Prince Frederick Eitel. They landed in Brest on the 18th of July. At 8 p.m. the Company marched 6 kilometers to Camp Pontanezan--- an old barracks of Napoleon. On July 23, they entered their "deluxe" box-cars for a thirty-six hour ride down the beautiful French coast to La Pallice. After several days stevedore work, our ambulances were ready and we were ordered to cross country by ambulance train. Instead of the planned 20 ambulances, there were only 12 G.M.C's. This forced some doubling up as the truck and touring car were not ready.

The route was through Niort, Poitiers, Chatellerault, Tours, Blois, Orleans, Fontainebleau, Melun and Meaux. We joined Evacuation Hospital No. 3 at La Ferte Milon and during the days and months which followed we were with this organization more than with any other. They were with us in three major battle fronts. The stay at La Ferte Milon was short as the Boche were on the run so we moved up with E. H. No. 3 to a spot outside of shell-torn Crezancy. We set up the first Headquarters for E.A.C. No. 7. The battle line on August 4 extended from Fismes to Soissons. We were hauling from Field Hospital No. 28, near Fere-en-Tardenois.

The men of E.A.C. No. 7, when not driving, were helping as litter bearers or setting up new tents for E.H. No. 3. The battle raged on for two weeks and No. 7 was busy night and day evacuating to hospital trains at Chateau-Thierry and canal hospital boats at Mezy.

On August 20, we said "good-bye" to Crezancy and moved over to Toul and on to Sebastopol to join EH. No. 1. This did not last long as on August 24, we were attached to Base Hospital No. 45 at La Marche. This hospital was acting as an Evacuation Hospital for the main drive on St. Mihiel, and our No. 7 worked with them for over three weeks. September 13 was the big day when the U.S. troops took St. Mihiel after an all night barrage and our work was especially heavy.

With the St. Mihiel salient firmly cleared, E.A.C. No. 7 was sent to the Champagne Front to join our old friends of E.H. No. 3. We went to Fleurry and then moved up to the Front with headquarters at Mont Frenet. From this point we worked through Suippes and Sonain and moved along to Grandpre, advancing toward the Argonne Forest. We had been evacuating the men of the Second Division and saw them relieved by the 36th U.S. Division. We worked on through Somme Py until relieved and went for rest and repairs to a spot near Chalon-sur-Marne.

On the last day of October we were ordered to work in the battle of the Meuse-Argonne and Verdun. We reported to headquarters at Souilly and then proceeded to La Cheppe at the beginning of the forest. We passed through St. Menehold and were ordered to proceed to Glorieux, just outside the walls of Verdun. Here we were attached to Evacuation Hospital No. 15 and one hour after our arrival our ambulances were out on the roads bringing in the wounded who were falling in the Argonne. The triage stations were moving up so fast our runs were further and over much rougher roads. Climbing the hill back of our base, we could see the battle raging between the French seventy-fives and the answering shells from the Boche.

Even on the morning of November 11, when we heard some word of the signing of an Armistice, we could hardly believe it as the firing and shelling all about us seemed heavier than ever. A raging hell was going on up at the Front and then suddenly it ceased, a deathlike silence hovered over everything.

We continued to work with Evacuation Hospital No. 15 in and around Verdun. Late in March we had word to pack up and move to Mars le Tour and after a month there, we were ordered to turn in our ambulances at Bourg and left for Brest with a stop-over at Le Mans for delousing. We sailed for home on the troop ship U.S.S. President Grant, arriving in Boston Harbor, June 8th. We went to Camp Devens and on June 10, 1919, all equipment was turned in and old No. 7 ceased to exist.

Evacuation Ambulance Company No. 8 was made up mainly of men from Section 572, which had its origin at the University of Washington. Many of the original members had left the section to join other sections from Washington, or other branches of the service. A group of men sponsored by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association were sent to Allentown in August 1917, and were assigned to Section 572. When orders came through from the War Department to form Evacuation Ambulance Companies from the personnel then in training at Camp Crane, Section 572 became, with a few casuals, E.A.C. No. 8. Their early days at the camp were spent in similar activities with other sections who remained in camp over the cold winter of 1917-1918. The Section 572,then known as a USLTA unit, went through the Guth Station operation, and on March 19, 1918, on orders from the Adjutant General, was reorganized as E.A.C. No. 8, with Lt. John B. Garvey in command.

The company sailed from Hoboken on the S.S. Orizaba, July 9, 1918, and landed at Brest. They remained at Brest until July 23, when the company was ordered to La Pallice, where they received their rolling stock of 12 GMC ambulances, on August 3, 1918. The move to the Front was slow. They were in Paris during August 5 and 6, when the German Big Bertha bombarded the city. From Paris, the company was ordered to join Mobile Hospital No. 2. They reached the Front between August 6 and 18, 1918, serving in the Aisne-Marne, and from August 18th to 20th, in the Oise-Marne sector.

E.A.C. No. 8 moved to the American Army sector, and entered the St. Mihiel offensive operation from August 22 through September 16, 1918. Following the success of this offensive, the company went into the Meuse-Argonne offensive. They were attached to Red Cross Military Hospital No. 114 at Fleury sur Aire on September 22, 1918. When the big push began in the Argonne, the cars of E.A.C. No. 8 worked 36 and 48 hours at a stretch. The company worked in shifts, with two men to an ambulance. They picked up their wounded at dressing stations, and evacuated to field hospitals and some times to a Base Hospital. In many cases, they had to supplement the work and even overlap the Ford ambulances.

After Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, the company had a short rest, and near the end of November were ordered to join the Army of Occupation at Dun sur Meuse. Through Verdun and part of Belgium, they advanced into Germany, reaching Wittlich, December 16, 1918. In February, they returned to France. Before sailing orders were received, Lt. Garvey and 12 men were sent to Antwerp, Belgium, where they did rehabilitation work. They were not relieved until July 20, 1919, which is the date recorded for their return home on the Princess Matoika. This group was discharged August 5, 1919 at Camp Dix, N.J.

The remaining men of E.A.C. 8, after the split, were ordered to Le Mans, and on May 14, 1919, joined the 306th Sanitary Train of the 81st Division, and went on board the Manchuria, June 9, 1919. They landed at Newport News, Va., June 20, 1919.

Records show no casualties in the company. As a group, before the split-up, E.A.C. No. 8 received five citations from the divisions they served, four with bronze star and one with silver star. We do not have the record of the French divisions they served, but these awards could have been the result of their operations with Mobile Hospital No. 2, in the Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne and Oise-Aisne sectors.

This is the only review where we have covered an Army Medical Department Unit, other than those in the Ambulance Service. Early in May 1917, Ambulance Company No. 2 was recruited at Berkeley, California, and sponsored by the University of California. They were ordered to report to the camp at Allentown, Pa., and arrived July 7, 1917. Like all these larger groups, they were split into three sections of about 45 men each and assigned Numbers 114, 115 and 116. (later 614, 615 and 616). They were at first billeted in the horse cooling stables and later in Building No. 8. These sections entered into the regular camp activities; inspections, drilling and hikes, and for some members even Guth Station.

In an early Chapter of the History, we told of the developments of the plan for a Mobile Operating Unit. Approval of the unit was received from France, and the personnel was to he formed from men at Camp Crane. Sections 614, 615 and 616 were selected as the nucleus around which this unit would be trained, while the equipment was being manufactured and assembled. These sections were commanded by Lt. B. L. Martin, Lt. A. M. Mead and Lt. F. E. McCullogh. Additional men were transferred from Sections 605 and 502. It was decided to send the personnel overseas to await arrival of their equipment. The contingent was led by Captain (later Major) Alvin Powell, and left New York on the Cunard Liner Aquitania on July 5, 1918. They landed in Liverpool, crossed to Southampton, and over to Le Havre, France, on July 14, 1918. As the mobile equipment had not arrived, the ambulance men served some surgical units in Northern France and Belgium. When the equipment arrived, the men who had been out serving at the Front, were called into St. Nazaire. Some had been serving at the Base Hospital at Bazzoiles, Haute Marne.

The assembling of MOU No. 1 equipment was finally completed at Parc des Princes in Paris, where the unit was on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. Therefore plans for the unit, unfortunately, were not completed in time for use at the fighting Front. Some of the unit were used in evacuating wounded prisoners from Germany, and continued to work with the French Army under the Red Cross flag.

The personnel was relieved on April 23, 1919, and arrived in New York on the S.S. Santa Anna, May 5, 1919.

The former Sections 614, 615 and 616, while at Allentown, furnished football and baseball players for the USAAC teams, and also some members were in the show, "Good Bye Bill." In view of the late arrival of equipment, the personnel was split into two sections and as a result there is a separate picture in the Appendix D covering MOU No. 1, Group 2.

A very complete and clear report was received covering the formation of Parc "C," which was established as the American Echelon with the Reserve Parc, serving the French Second Army.

The first contingent to go to Parc "C," four or five kilometers outside of Bar le Duc, in the Argonne sector, was made up of men who had arrived in France from the Tobyhanna encampment, on board the S.S. Pastores. (To dignify this boat with the letters S.S. was a misnomer.) The Tobyhanna encampment comprised Major J. Ryan Devereux's contingent, which left Camp Crane, Allentown in October. The camp at Tobyhanna had been the site of the Yale Battery Training Area, about 25 miles south of Scranton, on the summit of the Pocono Mountains. New barracks were under construction when the men arrived, along with the earliest and coldest winter ever to be experienced. Within the contingent were all three sections from Columbia University- 575, 576 and 577. This fact is mentioned in the review because the "cut-off" personnel, when these sections arrived in Paris, made up the nucleus of many Repair Parcs, including Parc "C" at Bar le Duc.

After arriving at Brest and entraining for St. Nazaire, on January 10, 1918, the units left by overland convoy in their assembled ambulances, while others moved into Paris, or to the Base Camp at Ferrières, by train. At Rue Ganneron, the sections were reduced in size, and the resulting pool of "Casuals" were selected by Headquarters to man the Parcs. The group which went to Parc "C" was in command of Captain Joseph Greenwood. There were only a couple of barracks and few facilities at the Parc when they arrived, and it was then manned by French soldiers. Captain Greenwood was later transferred and replaced by Captain William J. Bingham. (Having just finished a report on Parc "E," in which Captain Bingham is listed as commander, it is obvious that these leaders were changed from time to time.) The small group of USAACs at Parc "C" was later augmented by a large group of Motor Corps men, mostly mechanics from Ford plants in Michigan. They were commanded by Lt. Pfister.

As the AEF troops moved into the Verdun-Meuse-Argonne sector, Parc "C" shifted from servicing the French ambulance units to the American units, including both Ford and GMC ambulances. There were few U.S. Army Ambulance Sections who did not use this important Parc "C."

Within a week after the Armistice, on November 11, 1918, the personnel bid adieu to Bar le Duc, and set out with all its vehicles and mechanical equipment for Mulhouse, in Alsace on the Canal du Rhone au Rhin. From late November until May 1919, the men of Parc "C" were kept busy servicing vehicles of the Army of Occupation in the area. The USAACs in the Parc were relieved and returned to Base Camp at Ferrières, and then to Brest, where they were assigned to sections or casual companies for return home. Section 576 and 606 picked up some of these men and they sailed on the H. R. (Hell Rolling) Mallory for New York, and were discharged at Camp Dix, N.J. on June 4, 1919.

In view of the origin of the men who made up the personnel of the Parc units, it is natural for them to claim many men of fame, both in athletics and entertainment, while at Allentown or later in France. Parc "C" certainly had its share, because as one of the more permanent based Parcs, many USAACs passed through its rolls.

A review covering an Echelon Americain Repair Parc is something very difficult to report, as it moved constantly. The men assigned to Repair Parcs had no time to keep notes, and were requesting transfer back to their original sections at the Front.

The original plan for the establishment of a Parc to serve sections of the Army Ambulance Service on duty with the French divisions, was based on French regulations. These were changed from time to time, depending on whether any American Army divisions were working with the French Army, and/or working as an independent unit of the American Army in its own sector. A Reserve Parc with the French Army, therefore, always had an American Parc or Echelon attached to it.

For this reason, most of the news covering the Parc activity is necessarily sketchy, and covers the sectors where SSU sections were serving French divisions. Most of the men in Parc "E" entered the service at Camp Hill, Newport News, Va., in the fall of 1917. The unit was under the command of Lt. Raymond A. Kain. Sometimes it was considered as being sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, but that may have only been due to the fact that most of the personnel were experienced Ford service and repair men. The unit shipped out on the S.S. Madawaska early in 1918, and was assigned to work with the French Reserve Parc E, stationed at Epernay. They were serving the Fifth French Army. They moved from Epernay to Pont St. Maxence, near Beauvais, then to Sezanne and Reims. After the Armistice Par "E" moved up to Sedan.

Captain William J. Bingham was the commander for much of the time during the French operations, in the Somme defensive engagements--- Amiens, Montdidier, Noyon. Then moving to Sézanne and the engagements in the Champagne-Marne sector, and Meuse-Argonne offensive. The final move was with the Fifth French Army of Occupation, when Pare "E" was stationed at Sedan.

Freeman McClintock, who was a non-com with Parc "E," was later commissioned in the Motor Transport Corps, and took charge of the Paris Service Parc, connected with the Headquarters District, until it closed late in 1919. The report shows that Parc "E" was relieved when all U.S. Army Ambulance Service ambulance units were withdrawn from the occupied territory, and returned home on the U.S.S. West Virginia.

These units were formed from the "casual" pen at the Rue Ganneron barracks and garage in Paris. The personnel came from many sections and were often sergeants, corporals, first-class privates, or mechanics, who had been cut from their Allentown sections, when they arrived in Paris. Sometimes the cuts were made at the base camp at Sandricourt, and later when the base was moved to Ferrières en Gatinais. (It might be made clear again, at this point, that the early sections at Allentown were around 36 men, later instructions were received to require "regulation French Ambulance unit size," which was 45 men. On arrival in France, the sections were again cut back to 32 men, and it was these men who comprised the makeup of the Parc personnel.)

Parc "F" was assigned to the First French Army. The report of areas involving their base of action were as follows: Verdun sector, January 1918 to March 1918; Somme defensive, March 21 to April 6, 1918; Aisne defensive, May 27 to June 5, 1918; Montdidier-Noyon defensive, June 9 to June 15, 1918; Aisne-Marne offensive, July 8 to August 6, 1918; Somme offensive, August 8 to September 1918; Oise-Aisne offensive, September to November 1918.

While based at Breteuil, just north of Beauvais, Parc "F" was bombed and lost all their equipment. The records show two killed and four wounded, within the Parc barracks and mobile machine shop area. These Parcs were usually set-up at railheads, and for that reason were subject to constant bombings. They report their safest Parc location was on a large plateau, outside of Bar le Duc, and one of the hardest was at Nancy. The fact that locations of different lettered Parcs were very much the same is due to the movement of divisions to which they were attached.

Parc "F" received one unit citation from the French Army. It is difficult to determine just when the men, listed as their commanders, were with them. They were reported in this order: Lt. Fletcher, Lt. Lewis, and Captain Otka P. Dobes--- the last named officer being a former member of the American Field Service.

As was the case with all Parc units. Parc "P" was organized by Headquarters' Order No. 37. On February 18, 1918, Lt. John R. Fisher was ordered to proceed to Belfort, France, to establish Echelon Americain Parc "P." He was assigned two sergeants, two mechanics, five privates 1/cl. and six privates. The report covering the personnel of the Parc gave original sections so it is possible to point out here, how these units were made up from the pool at Rue Ganneron, representing so many colleges and universities. In the group which went with Lt. Fisher, commanding Parc "P," were men from the Universities of Virginia, Tennessee, Columbia, Pennsylvania the Red Cross unit from Washington, D.C., and men from Casual Sections #2 and # The equipment sent by rail to Belfort included: 1 Packard truck, 1 Ford touring car, 1 Ford Camionette, and 20 Ford ambulances.

This was a rather permanent Parc location, serving the French Army in the quiet sector around Mulhouse in Alsace. Later, as American Army divisions came into the area for training purposes, the Parc served both armies. We have no record of their moves, as was true of many other Parcs.

A word of regret must be spoken here for the failure to publish in this History a review of every section or unit comprising the United States Army Ambulance Service. As mentioned in our Foreword, much of the research depended on the records of the Service in the Historical Section of the Army Medical Department, and records in the Surgeon General's Office in Washington D.C. It is regrettable that there is such a deficiency of information covering our Service.

It is also regrettable that many sections had no one available, at this late date, to recall such information as was needed. And it is now a serious embarrassment to the writer of this History, that units such as the Echelons Américains, Parc B; Parc G; Parc Y; and the Parc des Princes, were not brought to his attention until it was too late to research them for this printing. If this information comes to hand, we as sure those who have been missed that they will get their review in some later USAAC Bulletin.

Nearly every Section serving in France had an insignia or emblem such as the one above. Artist William Sprague, Section 524, was brought into Paris, following the Armistice and commissioned to make a color drawing of every Section emblem which had been sent in. He completed 70 odd emblems to be made a part of the History of the Service then being written in Paris. No record of this History has ever been found and none of Bill Sprague's work has ever come to light.

The Editor.