Oliver Reiley and parts of the Rainbow Division Aboard the President Grant 18 September 1917 |
~ contributed by Bill Reiley <wsr@majornet.com>
On September 18, 1917, Oliver Reiley
(father of contributor Bill Reiley) and parts of the Rainbow
Division were taken to Hoboken, N.J. and put aboard a confiscated
German freighter, renamed the President Grant. It had been prepared
as a troop ship by placing bunks in the cargo holds. It was
estimated that about 20% of her crew had prior sea duty. The troops
were fed only twice a day to space problems and water sometimes had
to be purchased. Much of their spare time was spent in lifeboat
drills. A few days out they had a Measles outbreak and this along
with the other obvious problems forced them to turn back arriving
back in New York on September 28th.
|
Abandon Ship Drill on the Grant |
Note: This photo came from the The Story of the 168th Infantry, Vol. 1 by John H. Taber, published in Iowa City, IA. 1925, by The State Historical Society of Iowa.) |