Collections

This collection is made up of 51 items related to Private Victor J. Harles, who served in France with the United States Army's 350th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Harles sent 47 letters and postcards to his parents and sister in Clayton, Missouri, while in training at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and while serving in France and Germany between August 1918 and May 1919. He described his training exercises, aspects of military life, and the towns he visited in France during and after the war. Also included are 2 pre-enlistment letters and 2 pieces of ephemera.

This collection is made up of 51 items related to Private Victor J. Harles, who served in France with the United States Army's 350th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Harles sent 47 letters and postcards to his parents and sister in Clayton, Missouri, while in training at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and while serving in France and Germany between August 1918 and May 1919. He described his training exercises, aspects of military life, and towns he visited in France during and after the war. Also included are 2 pre-enlistment letters and 2 pieces of ephemera.

Harles wrote 13 letters from Camp Dodge, Iowa, between May and August 1918, and 2 while awaiting deployment from Camp Upton, New York, in early August. He discussed many aspects of military life, such as the food; leisure activities; his influenza inoculation (with a small drawing of the mark it left on his arm, June 16, 1918, and June 19, 1918); and training exercises, including rifle practice and anti-gas maneuvers (July 3, 1918). On July 7, 1918, he mentioned having seen three African American men hanged for an assault on a young woman. Once he received his assignment to the signal corps, Harles took classes in telegraphic systems and described the work of the corps. He also encouraged his family to look after his fiancée, "Lil," while he served abroad, and composed 1 letter while en route to Europe.

Victor Harles sent 17 letters, 13 postcards, and 1 Christmas card from France and Germany to his family in Missouri, writing primarily about his surroundings and war news. He reported seeing foreign allied soldiers and German prisoners of war, drew maps for his regiment's signal corps, and commented on the small French villages in which the 350th Regiment stayed during most of its active service. Harles had some knowledge of the French language, attained through his immigrant grandmother, and could interact with the locals. He described local customs and gave his impressions of the town's buildings. Although he arrived in Europe shortly before the armistice, he reported that his unit had participated in battle. His letters also include a brief comparison between occupied Germany and wartime France (May 5, 1919) and signal his intent to break off his engagement (May 17, 1919).

After the war, Harles traveled around France and to Coblenz, Germany, as a theater painter with the 88th Division "Show Troupe." He spent some additional time in Paris before returning to the United States onboard the Pocahontas in late May 1919. Three printed and partially printed postcards provided his family with news of his arrival in France, a new mailing address, and news of his return to the United States on June 1, 1919.

The collection's visual materials include printed postcards, an illustrated Christmas card, and 3 photographs of Victor Harles. Two photographs are enclosed in his letter of February 25, 1919, and the third is attached to his passport, also present in the collection. The postcards depict scenes from Paris, other French cities, and Coblenz, Germany. Additional material includes 2 early letters Victor wrote about life as an artist in Norway, Maine (June 13 and 30, 1916), and a metal identification tag for "M. J. Schreibert." One postcard postmarked 1908 depicts a Papago Native American woman filling a pot.

This collection contains correspondence, documents, and other material related to Sergeant Walter D. Henderson, who served with the United States Army in France during World War I. The bulk of the collection consists of Henderson's letters to his future wife, Jean Jones.

This collection (74 items) contains correspondence, documents, and other material related to Sergeant Walter D. Henderson, who served with the United States Army in France during World War I. The bulk of the collection consists of Henderson's letters to his future wife, Jean Jones.

The Correspondence series (63 items), the bulk of which is dated from November 19, 1917-July 17, 1919, contains around 50 letters that Walter D. Henderson wrote to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Alepheus F. Henderson of Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, and to his future wife, Jean Jones of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and New York City. Henderson discussed his experiences while serving with the 419th Depot Detachment of Engineers and the 447th Depot Detachment of Engineers in the United States and France during World War I. He described camp life and his acquaintances, as well as French scenery, civilians, and towns. Around the end of the war, he anticipated the impact of a labor influx on the cotton trade, and wrote about a furlough to southern France after the armistice. Enclosures include a piece of cloth from a downed German airplane (May 1, 1918) and photographic postcards of scenes in Paris and Le Mans, France. Henderson also drew pictures of an "'overseas' hat" (April 12, 1918) and a wagon (February 25, 1919).

Jean Jones received several letters from other soldiers who served in France during the war. Other items in the series include Henderson and Jones's marriage announcement (1921) and 3 letters Bob and Walter Henderson received from a correspondent in Houston, Texas (April 30, 1951, and undated).

The Documents series (5 items) contains 2 items related to Walter D. Henderson's service with the United States Geological Survey and in the United States Army, documents related to Jenkin Jones's involvement with the Masonic Veterans Association and to his will, and a statement about Nathaniel Jones's Civil War service.

The Photographs series (2 items) contains card photographs of Elizabeth E. Jones and Cass A. Newell, a soldier who corresponded with Jean Jones during World War I.

The Genealogy series (1 item) is made up of translated biographical sketches, originally written in Welsh, about members of the Jones and Davies families.

Three Printed Items are a guide to and map of Nice, France, both from the World War I era, and a newspaper clipping about the death of Jenkin N. Jones on December 6, 1923.