Caryl Holton - Veteran

Caryl Ames Holton & Celia Sconce Cathcart

Sidell, Illinois

January 16, 1918

Caryl Ames Holton joined the Army in the fall of 1917. January 16, 1918 Caryl wore his uniform for his marriage to Celia Sconce Cathcart. In June 1918 Caryl was headed to France on the SS Leviathan. This ship had been built by the Germans as a luxury liner. It was docked at a pier in Hoboken, New Jersey when World War I started. The ship was seized by the US government and was used to transport troops during the war. 

Caryl wrote his family every week for the year he was in France. The following except comes from "THAT TRIP," a three and one half page single spaced, typed account of the trip from New York City to Brest, France in June 1918.

"Friday morning about 10:50 A. M. I went into our supply officers room to see him about some supplies. His room was on the outside, next to the pier, and the port hole was open. Glancing out the port-hole I notices [sic] the pier was beginning to slip away from us. I looked at my watch. It was 10:55 A. M. on Saturday June 15th. We were off; off on that trip that meant so much to all of us; the trip for which we had all been waiting. I think that every man on that boat must have breathed a little Paryer [sic] then. A Prayer to the Master Pilot, to take us safely to our journeys end; to look over our loved ones whom we were leaving then, and after our work was finished to HIS liking, to bring us safely home.

"We were towed out into the river. Then our own engines began to throb, although we could hardly tell it because there was so little vibration, - and we were on our way. We were hardly started when abandon ship call sounded. That first drill wasn't exactly according to directions, but we got every man at his station before many minutes had passed and there we stayed until we were well out of the harbor. As we passed the Goddess of Liberty, every man removed his hat and a wonderfully inspiring cheer went up. The thought that came to me then- and to almost every man, I think, was- "WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN?"

"......... On the second morning out, we discovered that our destroyer had left us and that we were left on our own resources. We were alone then until the following Friday morning. When we first went on deck that morning we discovered that we were convoyed by four U. S. destroyers. Until you have seen the Stars and Stripes show up under just such circumstances as that, you have one sensation to experience because never did they look so good."

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In late May 1919, after almost a year in France, Caryl prepared to come home. May 11, 1919 he wrote:

"Mother o' Mine," ... Just two weeks from today, if all goes well we shall be sailing by [unintelligible] [unintelligible] taking a last look at this country which is so good to look at - from a distance. Then just as soon as it disappears below the horizon I'm going to plant myself up as near to the bow as possible and stay there as much as my duty and physical condition will permit - so I may be among the first to spy the Statue of Liberty as her torch appears "over the hill" where we left her a year ago. When we passed her last year I removed my hat - because everyone else did. This time I'll remove it for another reason - because I've come to an understanding of what she means and represents."

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Caryl was discharged from the US Army June 19, 1919 at Camp Grant, Illinois. At the time he was a first lieutenant and had served in the Engineer Corps