Floyd Boyce Phillips was one of millions of boys from the United States who were sent across the Atlantic to the Old Country to fight in the Great War. In this series of posts, we follow the 101st anniversary of Floyd’s journey and get glimpses of what was going on at home while he was over there.
Many thanks to Coralee for providing me with artifacts throughout the years and especially for the stack of WWI-era letters that were delivered to me on 31 May 2019. They have provided countless hours of family history entertainment.
– Denise
July 1918
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 Camp Hancock at Augusta, Georgia |
| 21 A Letter from Mother | 22 | 23 A Better Letter from Mother | 24 Leaving Camp Hancock | 25 Traveling by Train | 26 Camp Stuart | 27 Another day in Camp Stuart |
| 28 Sunday at Camp Stuart | 29 Final Inspections | 30 Last Day at Camp Stuart | 31 Shipping out |
August 1918
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 First day on the USS America | 2 On the Ocean | 3 Still on the Water | ||||
| 4 A Day of Rest At Sea | 5 A Row at Dinner | 6 Bad Weather But Some Meat | 7 Same as Usual | 8 | 9 | 10 Sub Little Excitement |
| 11 Subs and Destroyers | 12 Words from a Worried Mother | 13 Letter from Cousin Donald | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 From Charles in Canada | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 Wonder Where You Are | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
September 1918
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 Communing with Floyd | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 From Florence to Floyd |
| 29 | 30 A Letter From Father |
October 1918
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 Albert to Floyd |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 Letter from Grandma Phillips | 22 Another Letter From Florence | 23 Inquisitive Uncle Clarence | 24 Arthur Was Not Enjoying Canada | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
November 1918
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 Letter From Albert | 11 Armistice Day | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
December 1918
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 A Birthday Abroad |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 Letter from Roy | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
January 1919
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 A Wedding for Arthur and Florence | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 News from a Friend | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 A letter from Arthur | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
February 1919
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
March 1919
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 A letter from Balsy |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 A letter from Arthur | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
April 1919
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
May 1919
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 In a shell hole | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 A Year Since You Left | 30 | 31 |
June 1919
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
July 1919
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 A Ride Home | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Honorable discharge | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
July 1918 Camp Hancock at Augusta Georgia
This first post in the series finds Floyd still on American soil. Floyd was inducted…
21 July 1918 A Letter from Mother
Gertrude Lovin Boyce Phillips had to send two of her sons, Albert and Floyd, off…
23 July 1918 A Better Letter from Mother
In the last post in this series, we saw a letter that Gertrude Lovin Boyce…
24 July 1918 – Leaving Camp Hancock
Tuesday, 23 July 1918 was the day that Floyd left Camp Hancock in Augusta, Georgia….
25 July 1918 Traveling by Train
When we last left Floyd, he was asleep on board a Norfolk & Western train…
27 July 1918 Another Day in Camp Stuart
Life in Camp Stuart kept Floyd busy. He didn’t have time to write much on…
28 July 1918 Sunday at Camp Stuart
Sunday at Camp Stuart might not have been very exciting. There was probably a great…
29 July 1918 Final Inspections
As their departure grew nearer, Floyd and his fellow soldiers were issued equipment, inspected, examined,…
30 July 1918 Last Day at Camp Stuart
Tuesday had Floyd and his comrades up early. The guys still didn’t know exactly what…
31 July 1918 – Shipping Out
After a very early wake-up call, Floyd left from Newport News, Virginia, on 31 Jul…
1 August 1918 First day on the USS America
As August began, Floyd found himself learning the routine of life on board the USS…
2 August 1918 On the Ocean
Floyd spent another day in the middle of the Atlantic. He ate, rested, and took…
3 August 1918 Still on the Water
It’s good to know that Floyd was confident in the ability of the gunners, destroyers,…
5 August 1918 A Row at Dinner
After several days on the boat, life was probably getting a bit monotonous. Floyd reported…
6 August 1918 Bad Weather but Some Meat
A good book and some meat for all three meals might have made things more…
7 August 1918 and 8 August 1918 and 9 August 1918
Things were probably getting pretty dull and routine on the SS America. Floyd didn’t have…
10 August 1918 Sub Little Excitement
As the boat got closer to Europe, danger increased. Floyd didn’t share much detail though….
11 August 1918 Subs and Destroyers
In his last journal entry for many months, Floyd gives a summary of what happened…
11-14 August 1918 Words from a Worried Mother
While Floyd was in the middle of the Atlantic on his way to the war,…
13 August 1918 Letter from Cousin Donald
Floyd’s 11-year old cousin Donald James Phillips wrote a very newsy article. His account of…
18 August 1918 From Charles in Canada
Floyd’s youngest brother, Charles, then age 20, was working on the farm in Canada when…
22 August 1918 Wonder Where You Are
Can you imagine not knowing where your son was or whether he was safe? Gertrude…
15 September 1918 Communing with Floyd
Gertrude spent time thinking about her faraway son, Floyd. He was missing the Sandwich Fair,…
28 September 1918 Florence to Floyd
From her hospital room in Aurora, Florence Manning wrote to Floyd. Florence was the fiance…
30 September 1918 A Letter from Father
In this seemingly obligatory letter, Guy Phillips wrote from Canada to his son Floyd who…
12 October 1918 Albert to Floyd
Albert Phillips wrote a long overdue but very lengthy letter to his brother Floyd, who…
21 October 1918 Letter from Grandma Phillips
In response to a card from him, Grandma Amelia “Millie” Phillips wrote to Floyd. Addressing…
22 October 1918 Another Letter from Florence
Florence Estelle Manning, the fiance of Floyd’s brother Arthur Guy Phillips, wrote another friendly letter…
23 October 1918 Inquisitive Letter from Uncle Clarence
Floyd’s uncle Clarence Arthur Phillips wrote to Floyd who was still in France. Clarence was…
24 October 1918 Arthur was not enjoying Canada
Arthur Guy Phillips was 24-years old, love-sick for his gal Florence, and perhaps feeling unappreciated…
10 November 1918 Letter from Albert
Some letters are more entertaining than others. This one is a gem. Albert Harold Phillips…
11 November 1918 Armistice Day
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the armistice was…
7 December 1918 A Birthday Abroad
The War was over and Floyd was back in Illinois, right? WRONG! He celebrated his…
15 December 1918 A Letter From Roy
Roy, the oldest of the Phillips brothers, penned a letter to his brother Floyd who…
2 January 1919 A Wedding for Arthur and Florence
Not only did Floyd have to miss celebrating his birthday and Christmas with his family,…
5 January 1919 News from a Friend
Peace talks were just beginning in Paris and people back home were thinking about Floyd…
20 January 1919 A Letter from Arthur
Still excited from his wedding on Wednesday, 8 January 1919, Arthur wrote a lengthy and…
15 March 1919 A Letter from Balsy
One of Floyd’s brothers wrote him a letter and signed it “Balsy.” Comparing handwriting and…
25 March 1919 A Letter from Arthur that actually got put in the mail
Remember that letter that Arthur wrote to his brother Floyd back in late January? The…
16 May 1919 In a Shell Hole
A rare photograph from Friday, 16 May 1919, shows Floyd posing with a colleague named…
29 May 1919 A Year Since You Left
Gertrude wrote a letter to Floyd on the 1st anniversary of his departure for service…
3-13 July 1919 Finally a Ride Home
Though the actual fighting stopped in November 1918, it took another six months of negotiations…
18 July 1919 Honorable Discharge
We have come to the end of the WWI journey for Floyd Boyce Phillips. After…
