This is the final post.

 

Theo was discharged from the Army on May 30, 1919, Memorial Day.  Above is a copy of his discharge. In April 1920 he married Ethel Friis.  They had five children.  He went to work for the Chicago Surface Lines as a streetcar motorman.  (The Chicago Surface Lines was the predecessor of the Chicago Transit Authority.)  His main route was the Clark-Wentworth line that stretched from Chicago’s northern border to its southern border. 

 

Theo died on December 26, 1940.  He is buried in Montrose Cemetery on Chicago’s northwest side.  His grave is marked with a Government Issue tombstone inscribed:

 

THEODORE F. THOURSON

ILLINOIS

PVT. 1 CL. 132 INF. 33 DIV.

DECEMBER 26, 1940

 

Note:  The letter of 5/21/1919 was the last before returning home.  The Chicago based members of the 33rd Division were camped at Grant Park where relatives and friends could greet them.  This photo was taken at that time.  Not in the background the Santa Fe building (with the circular windows) and the Art Insistute.  

Camp Mills L.I. May 21 – 19

 

Dear Anna:

 

            I received your letters of May 15^th and 19^th and Mabel’s letter of May 18^th and was glad to hear that you are all well.

 

            I called up Cousin Emma yesterday afternoon and she and her cousin came to camp in an auto and I met them at the Hostess House.  We had a long talk and I am going to try to see her again.  They are not giving us any more passes and we are not allowed to leave our quarters without permission as we may get orders to leave any moment.  All those who are not going to Camp Grant are leaving today.  They are the men who filled up the company when so many were in the hospital.  Most of them are from the South.

 

            The weather has been fine here although we had some rain today.  Well this is all the news I know of this time.

 

                                                            Love to all

                                                                        Theo

 

 

 

(Received May 24, 1919)

Camp Mills May 20 – 1919

 

Dear Mabel:

 

            I went to New York yesterday and went out to see our cousins but they have gone to the country.  A short time after I left the company barracks a friend of theirs who is stationed at this camp [came] to see me and tell me where they were.  He left a note telling me where they were.  He also said he would be around to today and see me.  I just now met him and he tells me that Cousin Emma is at a town called Jericho, L.I. about twenty five miles from here.  It is to[o] bad she is not at the same place she was last year as it is only about a half hours walk from here.  Cousin Matilda is at Great Barrington, Mass. and she said she would pay my fare both ways if I would come to see her.  It takes about five hours to reach the place.  I am afraid I will not be able to get there as we are liable to leave any day.

 

            I was lucky to get my pass to New York yesterday as orders came today not to issue any more passes as we are likely to move out at any time.

 

            I received two tickets for the reception they are going to have at the Coloseum [sp] when we return.  We were told to send them home to whoever we wished to have them.  If you belong to the Auxilliary Ass’n. you will not need a ticket so you can give them to somebody else in that case.

 

            I do not know how true it is but there is a rumor floating around here that we may parade in Chicago next Saturday.  I hope it is true.

 

            I received a letter from Eva today that she wrote when we were on the Mt. Vernon.

 

            Well this is all for this time and I hope I will see you soon after this letter reaches you.

 

                                                            Love to all

                                                                        Theo

On Board Mt. Vernon

May 16, 1919

 

Dear Anna:

 

            We expect to land tomorrow morning at Hoboken.  We do not know which camp we are going to.  Received your letters of Mar. 29^th, Apr. 1^st, Apr. 8^th, and Mabel’s letter of Apr. 7^th while we were in Brest.  I did not write from there as we expected to leave almost any day and I thought I would arrive in the US almost as soon as the letter.

 

            The water was pretty rough for a couple of days and a good many of the fellows were seasick.  I did not get sick at all.  We had bunks on the deck so we had a lot of fresh air at least.  The fellows who had there [sp] bunks inside were the ones who were sickest.

 

            I hope I will be able to see our cousins when I am near New York.  I received a letter from Sweden from cousin Sigrid.  I think she is going to stay there as long as her father lives as it is pretty lonely for him there. In also received an Easter card from Mrs. Rice of Charleston, Miss. 

 

            I think you will see [us] up in Chicago inside of two weeks from now.  We passed a couple of boats that had left a couple of days before us with some of the 32^nd division on board.  I did not know what company Elmer Anderson belonged to or I might have looked him up in Brest as they were there when we arrived.

 

            You will have to excuse the writing as I am sitting in upper bunk writing on my mess kit cover which does not make a very good writing desk.

 

            I will tell you all about the trip when I see you.

 

                                                            Best love to all

                                                                        Theo

 

Syren, Luxemburg

Apr. 18,1919

 

Dear Anna:

 

            Received six letters from you and Mabel a few days ago.  We are busy getting ready to leave here.  We expect to leave not later than Wed. the 23^rd.  I received a letter from John Dahl from Camp Upton.  I suppose he will be mustered out in a few days.  I also received a picture of Enoch.  I suppose he has sent some to his friends in Chicago so you will get to see it.

 

I am glad to hear you received money as I was wondering if it got to you safe and sound.

 

We do not have any chance of spending any money here so I have nearly $100 more and we signed the payroll last night so I expect we will receive our April pay when we get on the boat.

 

I am glad to hear Ma has so much company so it is not so lonesome for her.

 

We expect to go on board about May 1^st.  I suppose we will get home just about in time for the Decoration Day parade.

 

We have had rain the last week or so but the weather is fine today.  I only hope it stays this way until we get on the boat.

 

Well this is all the news for this time.

 

                                                Love to all

                                                            Theo           

 

 

(Received 5/12/19)

Syren, Luxemburg

Apr. 11, 1919

 

Dear Mother,

 

            Just a few lines to let you know that I am well.  I have not received any mail in eight days.  I understand that our mail is being held at Brest, as we will soon be there to board the transport for home.  We expect to leave here any day now.

 

            We are having real spring weather right [now] and I hope it keeps up as it will make the travelling a good deal better.  We were paid yesterday and I expect it is the last one over here.

 

            I hope I have more time to write next time and I hope it is from some other place.

 

            Hope you are all well at home.

 

                                                                        Love to all,

                                                                                    Theo

Syren, Luxemburg

Mar. 24 – 1919

 

Dear Anna:

 

            Received your letter of Feb. 27^th with dollar enclosed a couple of days ago and was very glad to hear that you are all well.

            We have been sitting around all [day?] waiting for inspection.  We worked hard to get ready for the inspection as we expected the inspecting officer this morning.  I had to stop writing as the inspector arrived.  It only took about fifteen minutes.  They are checking to see if we need anything in the way of clothes and equipment.  We are supposed to be fully equipped before we leave for home.

 

            I received a letter from John Dahl and he is still waiting to leave for home.  He was supposed to leave in December but for some reason or other they did not get away.

 

            I am enclosing a picture of the platoon in front of the tunnel.  The four men with rifles are the guards.  Of the bunch there are only eight of us who left Chicago with the company.  So you can see that there are not many of the old men left.

 

I have heard nothing new as to when we are going to leave.

 

I am still feeling as well as ever and I am taking good care of myself as I do not want to get sick when it is so close to the time for us to go home.  Well this will be all for this time.

 

                                                Love to all

                                                            Theo

 

 

(Received 4/16/19)

Note: The photo referred to was posted with the 3/15/1919 entry.  TLT

Syren, Luxemburg

Mar. 19, 1919

 

Dear Anna,

 

            Received your letters of Feb 22^nd and 25^th and Mabel’s letter of Feb 25^th.  Dollar bill and socks arrived in good shape.  We are getting ready to leave her in about ten days.  If all of our stuff is in good shape, the sooner we will get on the ships bound for home.  We do not know what port we are going to sail from.

 

From what I have read in the papers the “Rainbow Division” is going to sail from Antwerp, Belgium.  I do not think I will get a furlough as we will be on our way home before the last bunch returns.  I think they will have to join us when we are on our way.

 

            The weather has been pretty good the last week or more.  It gets pretty cold at night but it does that during the summer also.  We were inoculated again today for typhoid and I think we received an injection of 2,500,000,000 germs.  I expect to have a sore arm tomorrow.  These injections must do some good as I very seldom hear of a case of typhoid fever over here.

 

            I think I will do the same as Ella’s cousin when I get home.  It will feel so good to get home I will not want to leave the house.  I do not know of anything more to write about so I will close with

 

                                                            Love to all

                                                                        Theo

 

(Received 4/10/19)

Syren Luxemburg

Mar. 15, 1919

 

Dear Mother:

 

            Received Anna’s letter of Feb 21^st a couple of days ago and was very glad to hear you are all well.  We are still at the same place but I think that by the time this letter reaches you we will be started on our way home.  If nothing goes wrong we ought to leave here in a few weeks. 

 

            Received a post card from Cousin Emma from Palm Beach, Fla.  That certainly is a better place to be this time of the year than over here.

 

            We were paid the other day and I expect we will get our next pay just before we go on board the transport. 

 

            We are having the finest kind of weather right now.  It is warm and clear all day and it get[s] pretty cool at night.  We have a heavy frost every night.

 

            We have all the clothes we need and when we have to hike with our full packs we wish we did not have so much clothes to carry.

 

            The company clerk is going to find out what he can about the Liberty Bond.  He says his bond had been sent to his home a short while ago.

 

            I wish I could make this letter longer but it is hard to think of anything to write about, as there is nothing doing here at all.

 

                                                                        Love to all

                                                                                    Theo

Syren Luxemburg

Feb. 27, 1919

 

Dear Mabel:

 

            Received your letter of Feb 5^th and Anna’s of Feb 3^rd yesterday and they certainly made good time.  The company moved last Sunday and I arrived here on Monday as I had to stay behind at the guard house and watch the prisoners until Monday when we turned them over to another company.   The platoon I am in is guarding a railroad tunnel at this place.  The tunnel is about 5/8 of a mile long and was built by the Germans.  It goes through a large hill and it [is] used only by freight trains.  We are living in barracks and have real beds to sleep in.  The rest of the company is in the town of Oitengen (Olingen?) about three miles from here.  Everything is fine except the weather.  It rains nearly all of the time which makes it pretty miserable.  I received a letter from John Dahl in which he enclosed a five dollar bill.  He was afraid I had not been paid yet.  That makes seven dollars I owe him.  He thinks he will be leaving for the states pretty soon and chances are you will see him before I do so you can pay him for me.  The razor blades and leads that you and Anna sent arrived in good shape.

 

            We have some pretty definite dope as to when we are going to leave.  We are slated to leave in the early part of May or sooner.  Of course that is, if they have enough transports.  I am glad to hear that you are all feeling so well.  I am feeling fine considering the kind of weather we are having.  Well this is all the news for this time.

 

                                                                        Love to all

                                                                                    Theo

 

 

(Received 3/22/18)

Note:  The photo above shows Theo's platoon in front of the tunnel they aare guarding.  Theo is in the second to last row in the center of the railroad tracks.  TLT

Olingen Luxemburg

Feb 1 – 1919

 

Dear Mother

 

            We are still taking it easy and it is getting pretty monotonous.  The mail is rather slow in arriving but I think that is on account of it being addressed to the hospital.

 

            We are having some winter weather, but it is not what you would call cold.  We are still drilling every day, but we have not stayed out as long as usual on account of the weather.

 

            There is going to be a football game between our company and Company ‘C’ this afternoon.  I am afraid it will not be much of a game as the fellows have not had much time to practice.

 

            I am feeling fine and I hope everybody is well at home.  News is very scarce so I will close with

 

                                                                                    Love to all

                                                                                                    Theo

This an interesting letter.  Here Theo outlines his travels in France.  Something he was not able to do when his mail was censored.                

TLt

Olingen Luxemburg

Jan 15 – 1919

 

Dear Mabel;

 

            Received your letter of Dec 20^th yesterday and was sorry to hear Anna was feeling so badly.  I hope she is well again and able to work.  It was raining this morning so we did not go out and drill so I have been writing letters.  This is the fifth one.  I received a program of the Xmas doings at the Chapel from Mr. Searles and a New Years card from the Chapel sent by Alfred Erickson.

 

            The fellow in Co. ‘G’ was right when he said that we went over on the Mount Vernon because that is the boat.  It used to belong to German company but the Gov’t took it and made a transport out of it.  It was so crowded we had to sleep in two shifts.  One bunch during the night and another during the day.  I was lucky enough to be in the night shift.  We had five sittings for meals, 1000 men at a sitting.  I happened to be in the first sitting.  We only had two meals a day and at noon we got two sandwiches.  We did not get much to eat at that.

 

            We arrived in the harbor at Brest on May 23 and had to stay on board the ship for three days before we could get off.  There was about 60,000 troops in the harbor waiting to get off.  We could not get off at the docks so they had to take us off in lighters and that was slow work.  We camped near Brest for three days and left on Decoration Day.  We rode on boxcars for a couple of days and got off at a town called Oisemont.  We stayed there all night and marched to a place called Eaucourt the next day.  It was a real warm day and we had to wear our overcoats and carry a full pack on our back so you can imagine how we sweat.  We stayed in this town for a couple of weeks and then we had to walk for two days to place called Gamaches and the camp was on a high hill.  After we stayed there for a while we took auto trucks and rode to a place called Molliens aux Bois and there we camped on another hill.  The camp was in the woods and it was always muddy because it rained so much and the sun could not get at the mud enough to make it dry.  We stayed here for several weeks making several trips to the trenches while there.  When we left here we went to Guerre Woods and stayed there for one night and then we went to the trenches for about five days and from there we went to town called Camon.  We stayed  for a few days when we left the British front for the American front.  We took boxcars again an we passed through the outskirts of Paris and we stopped at a small place called Culey not very far from Bar le Duc.  We stayed for two weeks when we went to the trenches near Verdun where we stayed until we went over the top on the 26^th of Sept.  The company has traveled some while I was in the hospital.  When they came to this place they had to walk 150 kilometers and a good many of them have had bum feet ever since.  We have been here for two weeks so I suppose it is about time for us to move pretty soon.

 

            Well it is soon time to fall in for our afternoon stint.  I suppose they will take us on a hike if it is not raining too hard.  I hope you are all well when this letter reaches you.  I am feeling fine and my mouth is getting better every day.

 

                                                                        Love to all

                                                                                    Theo

 

 

 

(Received 2/19/1919)