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Oct 4, 1817 Forest left for Service. Forest had many talks with me, I knew he felt he wouldn't live long. We were very close, his love was strong for us all & he felt he was going into service to keep the enemy from our homeland & protecting us by being in service & we loved him for his love for us.
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Leigh & Jay were close, Leigh told me once that Jay couldn't stand things like he could. We knew Jay wasn't strong but many brothers might have said Jay was a baby instead of knowing he wasn't strong. I rejoiced in all my children's love for each other. Our girls were always kind & considerate & appreciated each other & were helpful. The love & kindness we had in our home gave me much joy. Forest worked that summer for Joy Patterson & Jocie often tells me what a fine boy Forest is. When the time came for Forest to go into service we were very sad. The boys that went when he did gathered in front of the drugstore in main street. There were many sad good-byes, then the boys of the town got them on a hayrack & pulled them three blocks to where the road turned north, where cars waited to take them to the railroad. That was the hardest parting I ever had, to send my Forest into war not knowing what he would have to go through or if he would return. As they went from the hayrack to the cars I felt like my heart would break me. I tried not to cry & send him on with a smile. As I was looking at the other children Forest came up behind me & took me in his arms, it was such a comfort. We all wrote often as we got his address.
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He was moved often till he got to Camp Kearny California where he was in training until he went overseas. We all wrote to him often & he to us. One of his said he knew we on the ranch were missing him so much, & he knew it was harder on us, while he was going through new scenes & meeting people all the time, but he missed us so much. At the fall cattle sale, we sold some young cattle. About the holidays he wrote from Camp Kearny he could come back, if we could send the money, So that from the cattle just came to the amount to bring him home & back. It was lovely to have our Forest home with us again, we took pictures New Years Day, 1918. It was a sad ride back home to the farm without our dear Forest. As we drove up to the house there sat our dear friend & relative Frone Sherwood. How I did appreciate her being there to help our homecoming, I will always love her for that visit. She had come two miles to comfort us. I have often wished I could do something to help her as much as that helped us. When they called for volunteers to go overseas he was the first to volunteer. He said he knew the change of scene & all he did wasn't as hard on him as it was for us at home but he missed us & tried to do his part. I had a prayer in my heart all the time after he was gone over & I knew he was in the war. little Daisy would come up to me & say Smile Mamma. I guess I didn't smile much when I knew what my dear boy was going through.
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