Arthur Rose Eldred

“ My little knowledge of French came in handy and I acted as interpreter for the boys and if I were in France I have heard no news of the war since I left the States and no one here hears any news. You know more at home about the war than we do here. ”

“ This ship is very much over crowded as you can imagine. The food is very good and plenty of it but we have no fresh water to wash in and not a regular bunk to sleep, so we sleep on the decks in life boats, in fact any place where we can stretch ourselves. I have been sleeping in some of the ship’s crews hammocks who have been on watch, so I have fared very well.
We have left the rest of the convoy and are sailing alone but expect to meet a convoy of destroyers to-morrow. This ship is a cruiser so we have 20 guns on board and some crack gun crews. ”

“ The start of scouting in Oceanside was brought about by the fact that in Rockville Center in 1910 there was a troop of the American Boy Scouts, an organization which was sponsored to a large extent by William Randolph Hearst. ”

“ For example, he told his mother that there wasn’t much flu around and that the medical facilities were excellent whereas one of the few things my father told me about the flu pandemic was the large number of men with the flu at the base in Corfu with little or no medical attention. He and others with the flu were, he said, left there to die in the opinion of some. ”

“ It is very warm here so we are taking things easy. The Italians have been very hospitable to us in fact more so than were the French. One meets many Italians who have been to the “States” and have come over for the war. Every one says he will go back after the war. ”

“ We sure are a “salty” bunch now and no one gives a damn what happens now and we are hoping to meet a few subs. I think I told we were going to Base 25 which we think is on the Island of Corfu. Most of the men think the Henderson was set on fire before we left New York. She was a slow boat but had fine accommodations for the men. ”

“ As a result of this demonstration, we were invited to visit a number of troops in Westchester County and in New York City and explained to them some of our activities.
I was awarded the Eagle Scout Badge in April, 1912. There was, of course, no local court of honor but I secured affidavits from local men who examined me on various subjects for merit badges. Later I was called in to the national headquarters where I was examined again by representatives of the national staff as they wanted me to be sure that I was properly qualified. Mr. ”