Post #5, 22 May 2021:
PREFACE
My grandpa, Frank John Dippel (1895-1981) served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force both during WWI and immediately after, from 8 July 1918 to 20 September 1919. (Note: The official dates of the war were from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918.)
Over the course of his time in the Service, he was briefly assigned to the USS Indiana (a training ship for gun crews), and then on the USS Harrisburg (a Merchant Marine ship converted for war-time use to a United States Troop Transport). Here is a picture of his WWI Draft Registration Card.
Using several sources, including my grandpa’s handwritten notes, his correspondence with me, his official military records, and other research artifacts, I’ve assembled a brief glimpse of what his life was like as a sailor.
LEAVING HOME
Grandpa was 24 years old when he went into the Navy. At the time, he and his girlfriend, Anna Schneider were ready to get married, but they decided to wait until after the war was over.
In his letter to me (which he happened to write on Anna’s birthday), dated 10 Oct 1979, he describes that when he left for the Service he...
“...left my girlfriend behind and I missed her every day then…”.
My grandpa grew up in southwest Indiana, in the small community of St. Philip. Just prior to his entry into the Navy, he had already been living in Evansville, at 901 W. Pennsylvania St. (nonextant). His parents, Andrew and Margaret (Brenner) Dippel, pictured below, were still living in St. Philip.
Grandpa describes his farewell to mom and dad as he departed for the military (approximately 7 July 1918):
“...I can still see her in my mind. The last look I got of her, she and my dad hitched old Nelly (horse) to the express and took me to the interurban station. When it came, I got on and stood on the back platform. I could see them...she was crying like her heart would break. My dad had his crutches aside of him, between him and my mother – both crying. I will never forget even if I live another 80 years.”
A typical "express" wagon An interurban rail car
That would be the last time my grandpa would see his mother alive. A few months later, on 30 October 1918, she passed away from the Spanish Flu at age 46. Frank received notification of his mother's passing that same day in a Western Union telegram (shown below), while he was hospitalized with a lung condition at the Brooklyn (NY) Naval Hospital.
"COAL HEAVER"
On 3 March 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the U.S. Naval Appropriations Act, which called for creation of the U.S. Naval Reserve Force (USNRF).
As a member of the USNRF, my grandpa (Frank) achieved the enlisted rank of Fireman First Class (F1c). A colloquial name for a Navy Fireman was a "coal heaver". According to an article by the U.S. Naval Institute Staff, a "coal heaver"...
...hauled coal from a ship’s bunker to the boiler furnaces. A coal heaver could make up to 50 trips a day with a full bucket weighing about 140 pounds. Since it was hot, dirty and dangerous work, the members of the “black gang” received substantially higher pay than other sailors. In 1893, the rating was changed to the less strenuous sounding (but probably equally backbreaking and dirty) coal passer. The duties were incorporated into the rating of fire 3c in 1917.
This photo shows sailors on board USS Isla de Luzon shoveling coal in the early 1900s. (Naval History and Heritage Command Photo)
After Frank's military induction in Indianapolis (July 1918), he was off to several short training assignments covering a 2-month span of time. Initially, he stopped at Great Lakes Naval Training Station (Illinois) then, Norfolk Naval Training Station (Virginia), then a 2-3 week assignment on the USS Indiana. His assignment on the Indiana may have traversed the eastern seaboard of the United States from the York River (near Norfolk, VA) to Staten Island, NY -- the locations where the ship had operated at that time.
After the Indiana, he was assigned to the Receiving Ship in New York. A receiving ship is a ship used in harbor to house newly recruited sailors before they are assigned to a ship's crew.
Apparently, Frank's rapid assimilation into the Navy had to be prematurely halted for a time because, immediately following his training and receiving ship assignments, he was admitted as patient in the Brooklyn, NY Naval Hospital for about 2 months. According to Frank's daughter (my aunt), Marion, he had contracted Bronchiectasis, a debilitating lung disease. His smoking habit, along with his coal shoveling/loading tasks as a Navy Fireman likely caused and aggravated his ailment.
Below left, is Frank's own summary of his military service, showing the sequence of his various assignments, as he remembered them. On the right, is a portion of his official military record.
USS HARRISBURG - QUEEN OF THE OCEAN
After his recuperation and release from the hospital, Frank was assigned on the USS Harrisburg (pictured below). Prior to WWI, the ship was used as a Merchant Marine transport, shuttling passengers, cargo, provisions, and mail between the East coast and Europe. In its wartime role as a military transport, it delivered troops and supplies to Europe. Counting the crew, officers, and the troops destined for the war front, the ship could transport about 3300 people over the 8-10 day journey across the ocean. On return voyages to the U.S., the ship would often be carrying military casualties, U.S. civilians escaping the war zone, war brides, American Red Cross personnel, mail, and occasional Y.M.C.A passengers. For each trip, the ship would need to be laden with (and regularly resupplied with) a large quantity of coal to fuel the engines. So, Frank's job as a "coal heaver" was never finished.
According to the "History of the USS Harrisburg", by Robert B. Holt, the ship made 10 voyages in its wartime role, from June 1918 to August 1919. Comparing Frank's service summary and his official record, with the Itinerary of Voyages shown below, it appears Frank would have been onboard for voyages No. 5 thru No.10, all of which occurred after the armistice.
When he wasn't hard at work on the ship, Frank definitely made the most of his shore liberty by collecting souvenirs, post cards, and other mementos from each country and city he visited. Below, you'll see a number of the keepsakes that he gathered from his adventures.
THE HOMECOMING
All of Frank's voyages on the Harrisburg occurred over the months immediately following the war. His work on the ship helped bring home many soldiers (including sick and wounded), soldiers' wives, medical personnel, welfare workers, and children.
In between voyages, the ship's crew would also take time to celebrate war's end. One such occasion occurred after the 6th voyage, when a gala dinner-dance was held at the Hotel Commodore (more recently the Grand Hyatt) in New York City on 24 March 1919. The Ship's Ball (also called the Victory Ball) consisted of a 23-piece band, a Grand March, a buffet luncheon (after midnight), and souvenir keepsakes, including a group photo of all 588 participants.
Everyone received a souvenir dance program (shown below) with a little pencil attached so a female attendee could fill in her dance card.
This photo shows the order of the dance numbers, including the individual or group to whom each dance was dedicated. Notice the 6th dance in Part 1 was dedicated to the "black gang" - the Firemen, like Frank, who shoveled the coal to power the ship.
When the gala concluded and attendees left, each person was given a folder containing a large picture of the Harrisburg (shown below). The photo was actually taken several days earlier, as the ship was steaming into New York City, at the completion of her 6th voyage on 19 March 1919.
When this photo was taken, there were 3,104 people on board...and one of those souls was my grandpa, Frank. Five months and 4 voyages later, my grandpa came home for good. In September 1919, he was discharged from the USNRF, and the USS Harrisburg was decommissioned.
Back home in Evansville, grandpa's girlfriend, Anna had been waiting for his return. The many postcards and letters she received from him during his absence helped her endure their time apart. They promptly resumed their plans to get married, "tied the knot" on 24 November 1919, and were married for 62 years.
SOURCES
* Background on the USNRF: https://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2019/04/11/citizen-sailors-a-history-of-the-u-s-navy-reserve/
* Interurban picture: Columbusrailroads.com
* Express wagon picture: digitalcommonwealth.org
* Coal Heaver quote and picture, "A Brief List of Old, Obscure and Obsolete U.S. Navy Jobs", by US Naval Institute Staff, December 3, 2014: https://news.usni.org/2014/12/03/brief-list-old-obscure-obsolete-u-s-navy-jobs
* Details regarding the USS Indiana operating in York River: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indiana_(BB-1)
* Black & White photo of the USS Harrisburg: www.flickr.com
* Photos of the itinerary of USS Harrisburg voyages photos, details about passengers/crew quantities, and the ship logo image, taken from, "History of the USS Harrisburg", R.B. Holt, Copyright 1919.
* All other photos from the author's collection, and from the collection of Karen (Steffek) Hinze.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Special thanks to Annapolis (MD) Copy & Print Company for their top-quality work in re-assembling and re-imaging the tattered, original 1919 sepia-toned photo of the USS Harrisburg used in this article!