Saturday, October 13, 1917. Reported as usual, but missed breakfast. Scab and I had an early lunch after signing at the Yale Club. Saw Maury Jones,87 Win Little there. Met Charley at the hotel and went to [the American] hospital at Nieully [-sur-Seine] and saw Harry Thompson, wounded by shell in transport.88 Then packed, bought wristwatch, and went to Ritz for tea. Then returned and went to Café Paris89 for dinner with Sam, George Haven, and Reg. Scab said he was going to bed, we left him. As we walked into the restaurant who should we see but Scab and some smelt. He had apparently discovered a rather unique cure for his malady. He got fussed and came over to us and asked how he could get rid of her. How should we know? Then he slipped outside door and left her to eat and pay for the big dinner. Went to bed early, but Hen didn’t get in until 5:30.
Sunday, October 14, 1917. We got up at 6:30 and took the 8:25 for Bordeaux. We went through Tours and saw all the way down to the coast beautiful scenery. Picturesque old chateaus and ruins. Had lunch in a real dining car. Arrived at 6:30, met Bob [Lovett], one of our [Yale] Unit, who was second in command at the U.S.N. station at Moutchic,90 and had dinner and stayed at Terminus Hôtel. Bob, with his customary gravity and sincerity, tried to discourage us with tales of how awful the place was—all mud and rain.
Monday, October 15, 1917. Arose, breakfasted, and met Bob. Then we bought blankets, boots, and raincoats, till what was left of our money ran out. According to Bob it was the weather, not the Huns we were to fight. Had lunch at Bob’s hotel and then met Harry LeGore.91 Then we jumped into a slow truck and started for Moutchic. It was a 12-mile an hour Packard truck and we didn’t arrive till about 6:30. (From then on I hated a Packard.) 49 kilometers. We agreed we’d never be truck drivers, not while we could, say, stoke a liner. We didn’t stop at the station long but went to Lacanau and had a great dinner and went to sleep in a hotel.92
Tuesday, October 16, 1917. The truck had arrived to take us to Moutchic when we arose and we hurried through, or rather it hurried through, some rotten coffee. When we arrived at Moutchic they were hard at work setting up hangars, building barracks, etc. There were two long rows of tents and two barracks, several office buildings and some store houses and the nice house in which the officers lived a luxurious life.93 We looked the place over, saw to our orders, and then Chip, Hen, Scab, and I were sent to Hourtin in a truck while Sam, Fred, and Reg were told to stick around a day and then go and stay at Bordeaux until orders were received.94 We arrived at Hourtin about 12:00 and reported. Also saw Al [Sturtevant] and John [Vorys] who were still there. Then we were sent to the village to eat a rotten meal. After it we came out four miles and saw to our luggage and tents. The camp is practically a small village. Besides the French officers house, where we Americans also eat, there are a lot of small houses for the men and their wives and mistresses. Also a few barracks and a lot more under construction. Several store houses, two large and excellent shops, three hangars. There were about 40 or 50 U.S. [Americans] there.95 The U.S. live in tents off to one side between the French and the German prison camp, to act as a buffer between maybe, though we soon found the Huns were like unto lambs.
Immediately upon arriving we went out to the sand spit in a boat from which all the flying is done. It is about ¾ of a mile from the hangars or a mile around. The hangars are on a narrow inlet. There is a swamp around the lake on several sides, the soil is very sandy, in fact the whole place for miles inland, I forgot to say that the ocean is only three miles off, used to be nothing but sand dunes till this government planted pines all over. So now when it rains as it had done for the last two weeks the water runs right off. After hanging around till about 5:00 we all walked back. We had supper with the French officers at 7:00 and then sat around a fire between the tents and listened to heartrending by Chip, Al, John, and Hen. We hit the hay pretty early.
Wednesday, October 17, 1917. About 6:00 we woke up and believe me I never was so cold. After dressing in about two seconds and swallowing a couple of cups of the best and hottest coffee that was ever boiled and a hunk of war bread, we hurried out to the boat to go to the hangar. We sat around till 8:20 when we went to the mess hall—or officers’ house and had some awfully good hot chocolate and more bread. Then we went out to the point again and sat around some more. Pretty soon there was a big smash and we looked up to see the remains of a plane that hit on the edge of the marsh. Then there was the darndest noise imaginable as all the Frenchies talked at once and everyone ran to the launches to go to the scene of the disaster. A Frenchy had tried like a fool to turn near the ground and banked so much that also slipping a bit he caught one pontoon on a bush and smashed up. He was not hurt at all.
After the excitement was over we sat around till about 11:00 when flying was stopped. We sat around our tents till 12:30 when we had a fine lunch. At about 3:00 out to the point again. During the afternoon two of these simple Frenchies at different times came crashing into machines beached there. Nothing much was broken thankfully. About 5:30 flying was called off for the afternoon and the first day had passed without a flight on our part. However Al and John both soloed—each having had about four flights in the three weeks they had been waiting. Supper at 7:00, a little bull and then sleep.
Thursday, October 18, 1917. It was pretty warm when we got up at 6:00 and hurried out to the sand spit. Sat around till 8:30 and then came in for chocolate and toast. Just when we arrived at the beach again some French fool starting out circled to clear a sand bar extending from the point and losing his head crashed a wing into the hull of Douno’s boat. Douno was to be our instructor, so we were laid off. We had the customary wonderful lunch and went out to the beach. When Douno told Chip and me that we’d get no flying till next day we returned and took a bath. As our luxurious suite had no tub we stood in a tent [and] used a couple of towels and pails of hot and cold water. It was great. However, we both missed flights as Douno got another boat. That afternoon John and Al both stuck on the sand bar and were promptly razzed. After supper I wrote till about 10.
Friday, October 19, 1917. Arising a bit late, Scab and I just swallowed a cup of coffee, grabbed some bread, and made the boat. After sitting around till 8:30 I started for chocolate, but saw Douno coming out with his machine so waited. I finally got out and had a rotten ride. The machine handled very stiffly and did not respond well to the controls and the engine had only just enough power to get us off the water. These F.B.A. boats are somewhat similar to an F boat but have 130 H.P. motor instead of 100. They climb pretty fast, and with a good motor get off easily. But one can’t use the rudder to speak of, especially on a left turn, one merely banks and slips around. My God, what a machine! I wondered why the crashes were so few. Soon after my ride of about five minutes Douno got a better machine and gave me a good ride. We made a lot of landings, it was hard for me to land this far enough back on the tail. They can be landed on the step, but should be landed very far back.
In the afternoon as we were going out a call was received for the bomb carriers so Douno and another took two of them out. They are called DDs [Donnet-Denhauts] and are a very nice looking machine, larger than the F.B.A., with 200 H.P. motor. The first fellow up solo came down to land near us, got scared and just as he was about to land on the step, pulled back the stick, went straight up, slipped back and to the right, caught one wing, and fell into the water just turned around. Somehow it didn’t sink. He was not hurt, nor was the machine in any way injured. One of the monitors, without any inspection, immediately took it up and tested it, then he turned it over to Hen who was our first to solo. After him Scab and later Chip. I did not have a turn till late and then the beach captain said it was too glossy.96 Chip got stuck on the bar and has to set up drinks for all. Al finished up his two hours and will leave for Saint Raphael as soon as possible.97 The enlisted men move into barracks here today, but we are in the cold. It is fine weather, new moon tonight. Only one D.D. returned, the other was left out in the ocean. The one saw a boat within three miles of the