1918 Manuscript Diary of a Baltimore Man in the US Navy’s 54th Aviation Company, Sailing to, and Serving in, Paulliac, France as the War Drew to an Close

On offer is a detailed record of Baltimore native Henry Clayton Eliason’s (1892-1983) service in the U.S. Navy during WWI. 

Eliason was the youngest of four children born to William and Mary in Baltimore, Maryland. Following his service in WWI, Eliason returned to Baltimore where he married Katherine Ridgely Mercer in 1920. They had one child, Mary, in 1926. Eliason  lived and worked in Baltimore for his entire life, running the Eliason family automotive business and later working as a marine engineer. 

During World War I (WWI), Eliason served in the US Naval Reserve Force (USNRF). He was shipped out to France in July of 1918 on the USS DeKalb [see HISTORICAL NOTES below]. Eliason held the rank of Chief Machinist Mate, serving in the 54th (Aviation) Company. In July, 1918, he was posted to the U.S. Navy base that had been established in Paulliac, France to support the U.S. Navy’s air operations.

Eliason begins his diary on June 17, 1918, shortly after he entered service on June 11 (he uses the empty pages for Jan-May, 1918 to record many other things, which are described below). 

His early entries describe his onboarding into the military, which begins with a stay in “detention” at the Philadelphia Navy Yards, from June 19 through July 3. On July 4th, Eliason leaves detention for “regular camp”. An excerpt follows:

“Reported Rec. Ship office for Bedding [and] 1 mattress 1 blank, 1 hammock, got bug cover…Barracks 315 many yards….vaccination and 1 shot arm. Some hot walk carry bedding mattress etc. badly bundled to detention. Never forgotten. Oh yes! Regulation hair cut  - bath - identification tag made, etc.” [June 20, 1918]. 

Following his detention, Eliason is allowed to go home for a few days, where he takes a business meeting about his auto shop, has dinner with his girlfriend (future wife), Katherine, and spends time with family. On July 9, 1918 he writes one line: 

“French Line Draft. Friend sailor Joseph N. Garrrety” 

On July 16, he begins writing in earnest, every day, recording his experiences for a number of weeks. He boards the USS DeKalb on July 17 and they are at sea by 5:00pm on July 18. They arrive in France on August 3rd. 

Some excerpts of the diary follow:

“...Forming protection us and enemy. Only 2 or 4 ships in sight. Moving pictures in hold deck by YMCA assemblies this afternoon. Cleared up enough to see all ships at one time but nasty again. Foly hummed all night. Did not turn in until late joking about what different ones would go in accident”  [July 27, 1918]. 

“A machine gun range is about 500 yards  off in front of my hangar and you can hear them picking away at great rate testing. When they  get about doz going you can only imagine being on front line scouting party say some who have been there” [Aug 19, 1918]. 

“Very chilly caught cold self. Wrote home (3) All fellow out on benches singing and with bongo [and] fiddle all Chinks lined up across road it wa funny on fellows and Chink song they clapped at great rate. Business smooth” [Sept 3, 1918]. 

“Cloudy. Hurrah! Received 3 letters and some paper today. Oh! Yes some nice pictures too. They made the day full of sunshine anyway” [Oct 25, 1918]. 

“...Might think getting ready to go into action…” [Oct 29, 1918]. 

“Foggy and chilly. Told armistice was signed 3:45 this AM…” [Nov 11, 1918]. 

Among his notes of fellow soldiers names and addresses, Eliason uses some of the early pages in the diary (between January and May)  to note other things about his life in the navy. For example, he fills a full page with the “Schedule Phil.Yards /Schedule of Day” and lists his activities at the Philadelphia Navy Yards from 5:30 am (Reveille) to 10:00pm (Lights Out), plus everything in between. On other pages he makes notes about his finances. 

In the Memoranda at the back of his diary, Eeliason notes his financial particulars, giving a picture of how he was paid and where the money went. Interestingly, Eliason returned twice to add notes about his time in the service  in the Memoranda section. On Aug 11, 1926, Eliason notes down the timeline of his service and adds up his time spent:

“Ent service June 11…Transport DeKalb July 17-30…Paulliac, France Aug 3rd 1918-Feb 8, 1919….Final Honorable Sept 30, 1921…Overseas duty 216 [days] 9 mos service”. 

Eliason makes a memo on March 15, 1930 about the death of two fellow soldiers, one recent, and one long past: 

“Heard that our Lieut Molton died from an accident before leaving France. Was with his brother fell from a rock cliff…Trent Tinker died recently in this country”. 

Tucked in among the pages are several interesting items. One is his shoulder patch displaying his rank.There is also a 20 Franc banknote in excellent condition. Other ephemera within the diary include what appears to be a draft board card that had been mailed to him plus 4 small folded pages that contain notes and jottings which he seems to have kept on days he forgot to write in his diary. 

This is an excellent primary source document from WWI. Badge collectors will value the shoulder flash that was worn over a century ago as will collectors of currencies from that long-ago time. For a genealogist, his list of names and complete addresses would be invaluable for tracking down family member, fellow sailors and those who served in Paulliac.

This small diary is titled “The Soldier’s Diary and Note Book”. It measures 5.0 inches by 4.25 inches. It contains 92 pages of diary entries plus over 50 pages of printed information. The leather cover is in good condition with some natural wear on the corners. The diary came with a sleeve on the spine for a pencil and the pencil is present. The binding is in good condition as are the pages. The handwriting is all in pencil and is fairly legible.

HISTORICAL NOTE: The USS DeKalb. was a German mail ship Prinz Eitel Friedrich. At the outbreak of WWI, she was requisitioned by the German Navy and served as an auxiliary cruiser. Prinz Eitel Friedrich entered US waters while the United States was still a neutral nation. When the United States entered the war, Prinz Eitel Friedrich was tied up in Newport News and subsequently seized by the US government. Renamed DeKalb after the American Revolutionary General, she served as a troopship.