April 24, 1918 – Full diary entry:
“Leave Camp Mills 6a.m.
Loaded on English S.S. Adriatic.
There are 12 ships going across. 33,000 men.
Assigned state room 2nd class.”
Robert certainly could have had a less comfortable trans-Atlantic voyage. The Adriatic was one of the largest and finest passenger ships of the era.
This is from the US Army WWI Transport Service, Passenger Lists:
Picture of one of the ferries that took soldiers to their ships:
Information about the Adriatic:
Captain Edward Smith, who went down with the Titanic, had previously captained the Adriatic.
A photo of the Adriatic during its WWI transport service:
Note that this picture shows the Adriatic in its war-era “Dazzle Camouflage” appearance. The story of Dazzle and how it worked is fascinating. I’d especially recommend listening to this episode of the “99% Invisible” podcast.
This is extraordinary – a remarkable collection of photos from the Adriatic
A postcard from 1932 depicting the Adriatic, with some of its specifications on the back:
She was scrapped at Onomichi, Japan, in 1935.
Where was Robert today? See the timeline
MN Doughboy 1918 