World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American

Abstract The Avery C. Gilleo collection includes letters written by him while serving in the Michigan National Guard, 126th Infantry (63rd Brigade, 32nd Division, Company K) during World War I. The letters were written to his fiancee Eleanore Alten, the daughter of painter Mathais Alten. The collection also includes a portable letter writing kit that Gilleo used while in service and a pocket compass-mirror combo. In the letters Gilleo describes his duties as an officer, social issues and plans for...

Abstract Klaas Groothuis kept this diary during his military service in World War I. Born in 1898 in Loppersum, Netherlands, Klaas immigrated to the United States in 1912, lived and worked as a laborer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and returned to Europe in 1918 to serve. His diary touches on the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, as well as the Armistice on November 11, 1918, and the influenza pandemic, which killed him in 1919. Groothuis is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His diary may be of interest to...