Tuesday August 19, 1930

Breakfast was served at 8 am. Then at 9 a.m., Josephine and the rest of Party R traveled by bus to the pier in Hoboken, New Jersey. Was Josephine excited to ride under the Hudson River via tunnel? Party R was being escorted to the steamship SS George Washington (1) for travel to Europe.

The Marine Band was at the Hoboken pier to welcome them as well as some War Mothers of New York. As the pilgrims came aboard the SS Washington, the Marine Band played “The Star Spangled Banner.” The Marine Band then struck up “We Won’t Be Back til It’s Over Over There,” which reduced one mother to tears because that was the song that was played when so many soldiers were sent overseas a short twelve years ago.

The SS George Washington put to sea at noon. The departing pilgrims waved flags to the War Mothers as the ship set sail. The ship carried the pilgrims past the Statue of Liberty out onto the waters of the Atlantic. One pilgrim on an earlier sailing recorded that the liner pulled away from the pier so steadily that she could scarcely tell that the trip had begun. The captain signaled a last farewell with the deep note of the ship’s whistle.

On this first day at sea, the ocean was calm.

The ship was 722 feet long, had 100 officers and sailors, 180 firemen, 250 engineers, and 300 stewards. All told, there were between 1,128 and 1,178 people on board (two different figures reported by two different newspapers). Either 226 or 245 of these passengers were Gold Star Mothers or Widows (again, two different newspapers reported two different numbers). The pilgrims ranged from poor to well off. Some were poorly clad; others were beautifully dressed.

The pilgrims were happy to know that President Woodrow Wilson had sailed to Europe twice on the SS George Washington for diplomatic purposes. The SS George Washington originally was a ship in the North German Lloyd Line. It was confiscated by America as enemy property during World War I. It then served as a United States troop transport during World War I. It was decommissioned as a transport ship in November 1919. Later it became a passenger vessel for the United States Lines. Perhaps the crowning glory of the SS George Washington was to serve as a carrier for the Gold Star Mothers Pilgrimage of 1930.

Josephine wrote:

"This is my first time on a ship. Everyone is so nice. Have a state room with Mrs. Duhon from Crowley. The ocean is just beautiful and love to be on deck. There are five of them. I walked two miles today; it takes four round to make a mile - have met many nice mothers and widows."

Josephine and the other pilgrims had cabin-class accommodations. She found that her baggage was in her room when she arrived in Cabin 212-A. As mentioned in her note to home, Josephine’s cabin mate was a widow from Crowley, Mrs. Elodie Duhon. Mrs. Duhon’s husband, Angel, died May 28, 1918, and is buried in Aisne-Marne American Cemetery.

Mrs. Mary H. Everson from Missouri described her roommates: “I had two lovely War Mothers for cabin mates. We were congenial and spent those eight days very pleasantly.” Most of the pilgrims were two or more to a cabin. For some reason, Mrs. Fannie Fine, a widow, roomed alone on the SS George Washington.

Many pilgrims had flowers or telegrams waiting for them as they boarded the ship (financial circumstances of the family probably precluded this happening for Josephine).

Soon enough the bugle sounded and the bugler called, “Luncheon is served; Gold Star Mothers first.” Some of the other passengers made such remarks as, “If I had known it was going to be like this, I certainly would have never sailed with all of these Gold Star Mothers and Widows.”

The sight in the dining room was amazing. It had a myriad of lights, a profusion of beautiful flowers, the tables were set perfectly, and the table stewards were extremely kind.

What did Josephine think of all of this luxury, such a far cry from her modest home in Schwab, Louisiana? Did she agree with one pilgrim who said: “It seems so funny, having everything done for you, especially when you have been doing housework and getting breakfast year in and year out.”

In another note home on her first day at sea, Josephine describes a funny experience she had:

had a funny thing happen today - they gave every one a number so you could get the same table at every meal. When a mother told me to get out of her chair, I thought they were all the same - but she insisted so had to give up but I had everyone with me.

Sounds like Josephine had a good sense of humor and could go with the flow!

After lunch, Josephine and her companions went on deck until the time came to dress for dinner. Josephine had already discovered that there were five decks on the ship, that if you walked the deck four times you had walked a mile, and had walked two miles her very first day at sea!

Many of the ladies got lost this first night on the way to dinner – leaving their cabins, they could not find their way to the dining room. The stewards helped them find their way.

After dinner this first night on board the SS Washington, Josephine retired to her cabin to get a good night’s rest. All of her days and nights so far had been filled with new sights, sounds, foods. How was she taking it all in? Was she adjusting well? Was she wondering how the family back home was doing?

And was Buddy always at the forefront of her mind? Most of the mothers, when they mentioned their sons, spoke of how old “he would be if he were living.”

Source: written by Carolyn Ourso