On the Murmansk RR in 1919

[Howard Weinert]

A cover and letter sent to Omaha by Sgt. George Valentine Kinport [1895-Valentine's Day 1959] with Company 167, Transportation Corps of the American Expeditionary Force in North Russia. YMCA stationery inscribed "American Soldier's Mail" with handstamp "A.E.F. PASSED AS CENSORED A. 4351 signed by 2nd Lt. John Lawrence Ross [1891-1972], mail officer of the company. In February 1919 two companies of railway men were recruited from AEF engineering units in France to operate and maintain the Murmansk-Petrograd Railway. The men arrived in Russia in April and left on 28 July. Transcript of the letter:

In Russia just off the planet May 18th 1919 World's time 9:55

Dear friend Georgia,

Ambition having gotten the upper hand of me, I will exercise it by writing a few letters. So you too are waiting for me, well others are no better off. I myself, for instance, I am also waiting, waiting for a chance to get home. And I guess that time will come by July 1919 maybe [1]. Really, Georgia, I am no writer and cannot remember what I may have written to Sis. Tis true about the inquiry but not disastrous. Twice I "Ketch um" injury. Broke the index finger on my right but am not able to play the violin anymore. All the anxiety I could display would have no effect on my homecoming. If it had, I'd have been home long ago. Well the little girl [2] in Minn. is not so worried so much and in reality she has no cause for the same as I have not lost my heart to any of the foreign beauties, though I will admit France has some good ones. So has Italy, Belgium and Germany, and I have seen some fair ones here in Russia, but there are no feminine beauties in the town of Meselskaya [3] yet, though there will be later on as a few stragglers can be seen once in a while here of late. I had long since forgotten the girls' names and was trying to think of them some time ago but got to no conclusion. I remember them but have a suspicion I'd not recognize either one if I met them. I did not see much of them while I was there. Say, I reckon you think I am some kind of an author or writing apparatus that when set in motion its pepetuosity governs the mechanical part that it cannot cease until exhausted. But I am not. I cannot write without an inspiration. Bullets, gas shells, cannons, etc. have long since ceased to inspire my soul to any extent other than to regard them as a harmful device created to molest us poor little mortals called (by mistake) men. I am tired of war, tired of everything in general, have already stopped wishing I were home. It's done me no good, doing no good, and never will do any good. There, I guess that's parsing the verb do, is it not? By a few mental calculations and deductions, I have come to the conclusion that if I do not hesitate quite suddenly I shall have to begin a new sheet so will finish this edition and shut down the press. Wishing you the best of health, also your uncle and the girls, I am as B/4 your friend, Sergeant George V. Kinport, 167 Co. T. C. North Russia Exp. F. via Base Sect. No. 3, Russia.
PS. Am conducting a supply house, therefore the paper, have none other excuses. Kinney. That's my name now.

[1] 167 Co. arrived in Brooklyn on 17 August. [2] George married Mamie Popkes in Minnesota in October. [3] Maselga, a village and railway station 582 miles south of Murmansk, was captured by American and British forces on 3 May.

[Chris Grimshaw]

Howard

Thank's for posting this, It's brilliant.  Not often one gets to see such material from this campaign.

Chris