Biggs, Wilbur
survey sheet - handwritten

 

 

On front (recto) of survey sheet:

Date of Enlistment: April 19, 1918
Military Camps to which went:
* League Isl[and]. Navy Yard, Phil[adelphia]., Pa.
Units to which belonged:
* U.S. Navy
Date of trip overseas: Left May 26/[19]18
Service there:
* Landed in Bordeaux {France]
* Sent to Brest [France]
* [2 Mo? or Q.M. - quartermaster] Motorcycle despa[t]ch riding, then transferred to
* U.S.S. Reid (distroyer [i.e., destroyer]) did convoy duty, wittnessed the U.S.S. Cunington [i.e., Covington] sinking, July 2, 1918 [i.e., July 1, 1918].
Date of return: Dec. 31, 1918
Date of demobilization: Paid off Sept. 3, 1919
Honors received: --
* I have a book printed on our travels over seas, of which we traveled 70,000 miles all illustrated over

On back (verso) of survey sheet:

If you are interested drop me a line and I would be glad to mail you the same.
The Reid boat in the World War.
Or 70,000 miles on a Suberine [i.e., Submarine] destroyer.

Wilbur Biggs
813 Colorado Ave.
Bridgeport, Ct.

 

 

NOTES
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Naval_Shipyard

Reid I (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships)
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r4/reid-i.htm

Covington (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships)
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c14/covington-ii.htm

Battey, George Magruder. 70,000 Miles on a Submarine Destroyer; Or, The
Reid Boat in the World War. Atlanta, GA: Webb & Vary Co., 1919
(Internet Archive)
http://archive.org/details/70000milesonsubm01batt