 |
1919
Jan 1st New Year's Day.
We are beginning a new era in our lives today. I started the New Year by peaceful sleep, unaware of its entrance. There was no celebration by the German people. The question is what have we to look forward to? One conversation is that it cannot be any worse than last year. Moral - some do and some don't. Ask them all.
William J. Phalen, a St. Louis native, served as Regimental Sergeant Major, 314th Engineer Regiment, 89th Division of the U.S. Army.
The pocketbook sized diary covers Phalen's military service during World War I. Scattered throughout it's pages are mementos, photographs, and insignia. It begins September 22nd, 1917 as he departs Union Station for basic training in Camp Funston, Kanas. He then tells the story of his shipment to France aboard the USS Carpathia and the travels of the 314th Engineer Regiment throughout Europe. The most engaging section of the diary describes living near the front in November of 1918 and anxiously awaiting the Armistice. After Armistice, Phalen and the 314th were part of the post war occupation of Germany. The diary ends May 25th, 1919 when his regiment returned to the US for demobilization.
William Phalen's diary is available for patrons to view at The State Historical Society of Missouri.
