Artillery Man is on His Way to France (1917)

Columbia City Post ~ Wednesday, August 1, 1917

Corporal Hugh S. Earl, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Earl, who reside in the north part of the county, is now probably somewhere on the Atlantic on his way to France with a contingent of U. S. artillery. His mother received a letter from him written from an inland point and there was a postscript to it in which the young man stated that he did not get the letter mailed at the place where it was started. The point at which he mailed the letter was on the Atlantic seaboard and in the postscript he stated that they were about to sail.

The young man will be twenty-two years old in August. He was born in this county, up near the Noble county line, and lived here with his parents until about ten years ago when they moved to Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Earl recently moved back to the county. Their son enlisted in the regular army at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, last January and from there he was sent to Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, where he was assigned to the Seventh Field Artillery, Battery C. He evidently stands well with his officers as he holds a non-commissioned office, that of corporal.

Earl is a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Jones, of north line street and is a brother of Mrs. John Russell, of East Jackson street.

Jimmy Washburn states that he did not see any artillery in the camp where he landed in France and there were thousands of American troops there - many more in fact, than most people imagine, in his estimation. The artillery is probably being sent over as fast as guns can be provided.