By: Mark Holtsberry
Hoboken, New Jersey
In my research on these World War 1 Veterans from Paulding County, I noticed when these soldiers were shipped overseas, most of them were on the ship, “Leviathon” and set sail from Hoboken, New Jersey! Well, now, for the rest of the story!
On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. This is where Hoboken, New Jersey will start to take center stage and become a central role in America’s war effort. Hoboken was declared the main port of embarkation for the United States Expeditionary Force, as forces heading to fight the war in Europe were called.
Hoboken took a proud place in American war effort, but many of the city’s residents and business owners would face hardships during the war. A number of German ships were in port as war was declared. These ships were seized and were used as massive troop transports. Many troops were brought overseas in German ships that had been captured in Hoboken. Among these ships was the USS Leviathon, formerly the Hamburg- American liner Vaterland.
The 58,000 ton Leviathon was the largest ship in the world at the time. Hoboken, now became famous as a port of departure for European war. The slogan, “Heaven, Hell or Hoboken,” was taken to Europe by the “Dough Boys”. The first convoy carrying American troops to war left Hoboken on June 14, 1917, some being Paulding County boys. Fourteen transport ships, carrying 11,991 officers, enlisted men, and civilians departed the city. A total of 936 voyages to France and England were made from Hoboken during the war.
Approximately two million servicemen passed through Hoboken between the spring of 1917 and the fall of 1918. The first troops to return to America arrived in Hoboken on December 2, 1918. After the war, Hoboken made the rough transition to peacetime felt throughout the country. The, “Leviathan”, was turned over to an American shipping company and commercial life returned to the docks.
May 23, 1921, 5112 coffins arrived in the port of Hoboken, containing the bodies of American soldiers, sailors, marines and nurses who had died fighting in Europe during World War 1. President Warren G. Harding was there to mark the occasion and noted, “We shall not forget, no matter whether they lie amid the sweetness and the bloom of the homeland or sleep in the soil they crimsoned. Our mindfulness, our gratitude, our reverence shall be in the preserved Republic and maintained liberties and the supreme justice for which they died.” Now you know the rest of the story.
…Until Next Time!
