Immigrant Soldier: The American Journey of Albert J. Heim

Memories of Albert Heim (Part 5)

The beginning of my army career

(N.J. National Guard and U.S. Army)
Milltown was a quiet little community and we young fellows used to spend many evenings in New Brunswick, which of course was a pretty good sized city. All the movie theatres were there and we also went to the Y.M.C.A. gymnastics and swimming. So, one evening after coming from the YMCA I strolled along Livingston Ave., which was the main residential avenue in town. As if from no where, I noticed a body of men in soldiers uniform, rifles on their shoulders, marching down the avenue. For some reason or other, the sight of these men, marching in perfect precision fascinated me and I just had to follow them until finally they marched up Codwise Ave. and into the Company H. armory of the New Jersey National Guard. I never knew, that there was an organization of this kind. I walked up the steps and stood by the open door, then my curiosity got the best of me and I walked right in, sat on the bench and watched and listened to what was going on. I always liked anything pertaining to the military. I really became so interested that I did not notice one of the sergeants coming towards me. I recall, that I was getting a little nervous, for he looked pretty husky in his uniform and I thought, well, here is where I get ordered out for being so nervy. But I was wrong and like a gentleman he introduced himself and told me, that he was watching me and thought perhaps I wanted some information. Boy, was I relieved. I made all kinds of excuses for barging in like I did with out permission. He informed me not to feel bad about it, for every body was welcome in a State armory and if they did not want any one to enter, the door would be closed. He sat down along side of me and I told him who I was and where I lived and the reason why I followed the company to the armory. So you like military stuff. Eh? he replied suppose you come with me to the captains office and if you are in no particular hurry, I will explain to you all about the New Jersey National Guard and the history of H. Company. I really liked what I heard and I must have been there for quite some time, because I saw all the men leaving the armory, but in their civilian clothes, no doubt on their way home. Then three officers entered the room and immediately the sergeant jumped to attention and saluted the officers. This happened so fast, so I too stood up and the sergeant then presented me to the captain and his lieutenants. They were very courteous and invited me to come to the armory any Thursday evening between the hours of 7:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M. and should I be interested in the National Guard, I would indeed be welcome to become a member of H. company.
That night when I came home, I explained the entire situation to Mr. Shephard. He listened but did not say too much about it, but for the next few days, all I could talk about to my friends, was Company H. I also found out, that there were four other men from Milltown, who were already members of Company H. I did not waste any time to get in contact with them and of course I received further information in regards to the activities of H. Company. I had many talks with Mr. Shephard about my signing up for the National Guard. I guess he was so tired of me talking about this subject, he finally signed my application to join as my next of kin. So, I became a recruit in company H.
The day arrived, when I took the oath of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. What a thrill for me, all dressed up in the uniform of a soldier of the U.S.A. It really was a very solemn ceremony and I was indeed ready to serve America and my state whenever called upon. As a rookie, I had to report to the armory twice a week to receive training in the manual of arms, the construction of a rifle, the proper use of the bayonet, how to roll a pack, how to pitch a pup tent and many other rules and regulations of a soldier. For about three months us rookies were kept quite busy. It was interesting and I enjoyed every minute of it. During this time of training, I tried to get some of my friends to also enlist in Company H but they were hesitant about joining and I surmised that perhaps their parents were not in favor of it. I really took my rookie training very seriously and finally one Thursday evening, while we were at drill in the basement of the armory the first sergeant came and informed us, that as of now, our rookie days were at an end, that he was very pleased with our performance and the fine progress we made in the last three months and we were to get ourselves ready for presentation to the company commander in ten minutes. Our drill sergeant was indeed just as happy as we and you never saw a busier bunch of rookies, polishing and shining and getting more nervous by the minute. There were six of us and during these weeks of training we got to be like brothers and we hoped that we would all be assigned to the same squad in the company.
O.K. boys, line up, forward march and with our drill sergeant in the lead, we were marched up to the center of the drill floor and we were presented to the company commander and the company. I still can hear those commands of our drill sergeant as though it happened yesterday. How he yelled, as though we were deaf, loud and clear, that was the style in the army. Present arms – order arms, prepare for inspection – and then the skipper stood in front of each man and he really gave us the once over. Evidently he must have been satisfied, because he gave the command of - stand at ease. Then he impressed upon us the responsibility to duty, shook our hand and smiling congratulated us and advanced us to the rank of private. We were then assigned to our respective squad and here I was: Private, Albert J. Heim, 3d. squad, Company H. 2nd N.J. Infantry, National Guard.- - - -
So, from now on, Thursday nights belong to Uncle Sam and I am indeed very proud to record, that I never missed a single drill night.
The weeks and months rolled by so quickly and of course I enjoyed the many good times I had with my many friends. I was also informed by my superiors in the factory that I became more and more efficient in my work and the thing I enjoyed most of all was living with the Shephards. They certainly made me really feel at home. My own parents could not have given me better care than these good friends.
In regards to the war in Europe, no one could really see an early end and I thought of my family constantly, wondering, will we ever hear from each other again. During the summer, I had to take nine days off from work, spending this time with my regiment at the New Jersey National Guard encampment, Sea Girt, N.J. This was a yearly routine for all National Guardsmen. While on these maneuvers we practiced on the rifle range, bayonet practice, and day and night combat procedure. I never realized what a softy I was and these nine days of training were really rough on me. But I enjoyed this type of training and especially the outdoor life. The meals of course were quite different than Mrs. Shephard’s but then - - - We were in the army now. - - -
Fall and winter passed and with it fond memories of lively parties, hayrides, ice skating parties on Lawrence Brook in Milltown and many, many other nice affairs with my many friends, both boys and girls or perhaps I should say: young ladies ? ? ? Towards spring, rumors that the United States might get involved in this terrible war also were heard quite frequently. Even at our drill nights in the armory we noticed, that something was going to happen, for we had to be on hand at all times, ready to report at the armory within 24 hours notice. It was not a very comfortable thought, but then we were young and the situation seemed rather exciting to us.
Finally, it hit, quick, sudden, and hard. On April 17th, 1917 at 2:00 p.m. my foreman, Mr. Shephard came up to me in the machine shop and he just stood there and for a few minutes he just could not say what he wanted to. I thought he acted sort of strange, so I asked him, what’s the matter boss? He replied, Albert, I’m sorry it has to be me to tell you this, but I just received a call from the armory, you are to report at once. - - -
Many of us sort of expected this call to come some time, but when it did come, all at once, the meaning, the significance of it certainly hit very hard. And I still remember standing there by my machine with my mouth wide open, asking Mr. Shephard, to come again? Report right now?
With out saying anything, I removed my working clothes, did not even clean up but went straight home. Mrs. Shephard met me at the door, and I saw tears in her eyes, for her husband informed her and told her the news. I was cleaned and dressed in no time and on my way out of the house, Mrs. Shephard embraced me and really held me tight and I could hear her saying, Albert, you are too young for this terrible business. I shall always treasure this moment, it was the nicest thing that happened to me since I left home. It made me feel good, because somebody really cared. So, I told her not to worry too much, maybe I’m a little young but I certainly am able.
On my arrival at the armory, I reported to my captain at once, who was in uniform, sitting at his desk, phone in one hand, pencil in the other, and the company roster in front of him and he was not smiling. He commended me for being prompt and told me to get in uniform at once and to pack all my civilian clothes. He also remarked, Heimy, I’m afraid it’s going to be a long time before we wear our civilian clothes again. - - - He was a good captain and was well liked by all the boys in the company. It was sure not a very pleasant job for him to call all these men because he knew what was ahead of us. Our general orders were, not to leave the armory and at 9:00 p.m. we had roll call and every many of Company H was present. We were then informed, that a state of war existed between Germany and her Allies and within 48 hours we would be mustered into federal service, which meant, that we would no longer be National Guard but U.S. Army. For the next two days we were allowed to go home, to settle our private affairs at home, but each night we had to report for roll call at 10:30 P.M. and spent the night at the armory, sleeping on that nice hard floor. On the third day at a very impressive ceremony we were sworn into the federal service by a U.S. Army Colonel. From now on, no one was allowed to leave the armory. We could not even eat our meals at home. The day was spent in drilling and lectures and we also received all our equipment. After one week of this schedule we were examined by an army doctor and four of our men did not pass this examination and were sent home. They felt rather bad about it and so did we, however in one way it was really in their favor, because they were all married men and some had children and they were indeed more at home than in the service. After the physical examination we were told that we would be stationed at Camden, N.J. to guard all vital points in and around this area. Headlines in the newspapers in New Brunswick announced the departure of Company H. and when the time arrived to leave, the railroad station was just jammed with relatives and friends of the men leaving. It was a sad picture, practically every man had folks around him to bid him God speed. I am pretty near certain, that I must have been the only chap that stood on that station platform all by himself. It would have been nice to have a couple of my friends there, but no doubt they all had to work and I did not expect them to take time off. However, there were two old ladies standing near by, who must have come to the station, just to see what was going on. Of course, poor lucky little me, when they saw me standing there all alone, they came over towards me and wanted to know if there was no one to see me off. I told them that I already said goodbye to my friends and I did not expect anyone to be here. Well, that’s all they needed to know and like all good girl scouts they really did their good deed this day. Before I knew what was happening, I got kissed and hugged from all sides and although it was really nice of them, believe it or not, I was very glad when the order came for all to go aboard. I never did find out who these good ladies were but who ever they were, I’d say they were O.K.
We arrived at Camden, N.J. that night and our assignment was the Public Service Power House on the Delaware River. After a few weeks of guard duty there, the entire regiment was assembled at Trenton, N.J., which was our regimental headquarters. In October of that year we were transported by train to our training encampment at Anniston, Alabama. Here the 29th Division, the Blue and Gray was formed. Our division was made up of men from New Jersey and Delaware which was the 57th or Blue Brigade and men from Maryland and Virginia which was the 58th or gray brigade. The Blue and Gray Division were from the North and the South. The training from now on was very intensive. It was very rough on us softies but in no time at all we got used to it. Now and then we would fight the civil war all over again with our southern buddies. Of course this was expected but it never amounted to much and most of the time it was just to get the other fellow’s goat and they in return did the same to us. The winter of this year was really a humdinger because we lived in tents. The folks at home thought we were lucky to be training in the sunny south. What they did not know was that Camp McClellan was located in the Alabama mountains and during the Christmas season we only had 14 inches of snow. In fact we had more snow that year than the folks in New Brunswick. However the snow did not last very long. The mild southern breezes soon came and we had a very early spring. While we were at Camp McClellan all our companies were built up to war strength. Many of the companies of the old National Guard were broken up. We were indeed very fortunate, because we kept our letter, Company H. 113th Infantry. So, when the winter passed, spring was here and our skipper told us one day, that the big boys in Washington thought that we were a pretty tough outfit by now and about ready to give 'em hell over there. - - -
There were many men in our division, who were not born in this country and like me they were actually fighting against the land of their birth. All together there were 400 of us aliens. One day we were ordered to report to our divisional commander, Major General Morton. You never saw such a shiny bunch of foreigners march to headquarters. Every one was as neat as a whistle. We even took a shower before we assembled. As we passed the different company streets on our way to headquarters the boys could hardly look at us. As the rays of the sun hit us we were shining like brass monkeys, and every mother’s son was as scared as a mouse in a trap, because we did not know what the old man was going to say to us. So, we got to headquarters and as the general came out of his quarters we stood at attention so long, I thought I was going to hit terra firma. The old boy went right down the line and looked every single one right smack in the eye and I mean looked. Finally one of the officers gave the command, at ease and then the general informed us, that due to the fact that we were aliens we had the choice of changing our mind in regards to going over seas with the division. Also, no one can be a member of the American Expeditionary Force unless they were American Citizens. I certainly will always recall this tense moment, because out of the 400 men only two took advantage of the situation. It was indeed a very tense moment in front of all the brass and the hundreds of enlisted men who were standing in the distance and heard and saw what was going on. I would not want to be in their place for all the money in the world. I really believe these two boys had plenty of courage but I’m afraid not the right kind. - - -
The next day we again reported to headquarters, where we received our citizen papers. What a day, all my officers and buddies congratulated me and to be sure, we really celebrated. What a night and what a morning after. I was not used to celebrations of this kind and as bad as I felt, like a true American citizen, I stuck my chest out even if my legs were wobbly.
No doubt, perhaps there are some who will read this account and may wonder, and think it to be quite strange, how can any one be capable of fighting against the country of one’s birth? My answer is easy to give, because I had a very understanding and broad-minded dad. Before I left my home he impressed upon me, that where ever you earn your daily bread and make your home, that is the land you must honor, love and defend. I prayed often and hoped that if I should be in combat that I would not meet any of my relatives or friends face to face. This is not any easy thought, but I am certain my actions were proper.
So, finally the day came when all the tents at Camp McClellan were folded, all companies were busy packing their equipment. Then train after train pulled out of the old camp side and after a very monotonous trip north on the railroad we arrived at the embarkation center in Newport, Virginia. Every day, from the hillside of this camp we would look east across the greenish waters of the Atlantic. No one had to tell us, from now on it’s going to be the real thing, no more exercise or maneuvers and who knows, will there be a return?
It sure was a pity, I would have loved to see my friends in Milltown once more. But that was not to be.- - - - - - - - -

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