Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection contains correspondence related to Brewster E. Littlefield's service with the United States Army's 101st Engineers during World War I. Littlefield wrote around 110 letters to his family in Braintree, Massachusetts, about his experiences in France, which included service in the front lines. The collection also includes letters about Littlefield's death, poetry about the war, and photographs.

This collection (155 items) contains correspondence related to Brewster E. Littlefield's service with the United States Army's 101st Engineers during World War I. Littlefield wrote around 110 letters to his family in Braintree, Massachusetts, about his experiences in France, which included service in the front lines. The collection also contains letters about Littlefield's death, poetry about the war, and photographs.

The Correspondence series (135 items), which comprises the bulk of the collection, contains letters that Brewster E. Littlefield wrote to his parents from September 25, 1917-October 31, 1918. Early letters pertain to his journey to France via Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Southampton, England. After arriving in France in October 1917, Littlefield wrote about his daily experiences with the 101st Engineer Regiment. He discussed his living quarters, his religious life, and his work as a gas mask specialist, which involved frequent travel by motorcycle and on horseback. Littlefield also commented on his training exercises, which included a simulated gas attack, and mentioned his pride in the American "doughboys." He spent time in the trenches and near the front lines, traveled around France, and attended training in Paris; his letters include descriptions of artillery attacks, aerial warfare, and gas attacks. He reflected on the impact that the war had on him, such as his gradual adjustment to shelling. On several occasions, including in his final letter, he remarked on close encounters with German bombs. Littlefield also wrote about his relationship and correspondence with a girl named Almira, an encounter with German prisoners of war, and the impact of the influenza epidemic.

Additional correspondence items largely postdate Littlefield's death. In November 1918, the Littlefield family received a telegram and official letter notifying them of Brewster E. Littlefield's death, and they later received 2 letters from his army acquaintances about the precise circumstances of the incident. Later correspondence relates to Littlefield's personal effects and final paycheck. Two sets of military orders concern other American soldiers.

The Poems, Photographs, and Currency series (20 items) contains additional materials related to Brewster E. Littlefield and the First World War. Two typed poems concern soldiers' experiences during the war. Seventeen snapshots and card photographs (one of which is dated December 1, 1941) show families, a dog in the snow, and World War I-era United States soldiers in uniform, including Brewster E. Littlefield. The final item is a one-franc note.

This collection consists of letters that brothers Edward P. and Homer J. Oliver, originally of Utica, New York, wrote to their mother, Elizabeth E. Oliver, in the mid- to late 1910s. Edward P. Oliver wrote about his experiences on the USS Wyoming from August 1915-July 1917, and Homer J. Oliver wrote about his service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium from January 1918-November 1918.

This collection consists of 10 letters that brothers Edward P. and Homer J. Oliver wrote about their experiences in the United States Marine Corps and Canadian Expeditionary Force during the mid- to late 1910s. Edward P. Oliver wrote 5 letters to his mother from August 31, 1915-July 16, 1917, while serving on the USS Wyoming. Homer J. Oliver wrote 4 letters to his mother and 1 letter to Edward from January 24, 1918-November 20, 1918, while serving in France and Belgium.

Edward P. Oliver's letters to his mother pertain to his service on the USS Wyoming at Hampton Roads, Virginia; the New York Navy Yard; and an undisclosed location. He commented on the ship's movements and anticipated assignments, drilling and adapting to new equipment, and his brother's enlistment. In his letter of June 20, 1916, he discussed the worsening situation in Mexico, including the USS Hancock's efforts to transfer marines from Haiti to Mexico and the possibility of a large-scale evacuation of Americans from Mexico City.

Homer J. Oliver wrote to his mother and brother about his experiences in western Europe during the final years of the war. He assured his mother that he had a savings account in an Ottawa bank and told her that he enjoyed visits to Paris and southern France. In three letters, Oliver discussed his recuperation from a gas attack that damaged his eyesight, his sense of taste, and his neck. Despite feeling that he might be, "in a way, crippled for life" (October 7, 1918), he anticipated a relatively quick recovery. He also commented on the positive effect of United States troops on the Allied war effort, particularly after the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. After the end of the war, he expected to join his new unit, an intelligence outfit, as part of the army of occupation. He wrote 3 of his letters on stationery from the Canadian YMCA and the Canadian service chaplain.

This collection is primarily made up of 32 letters that Frederick McGill wrote to his sweetheart, Louise Rochat of Glen Cove, New York, while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. McGill wrote about his training at Camp Mills, New York, and about his experiences in France, which included service on the front lines.

This collection is primarily made up of 32 letters that Frederick McGill wrote to his sweetheart, Louise Rochat of Glen Cove, New York, while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. McGill wrote about his training at Camp Mills, New York, and about his experiences in France, which included service on the front lines.

From August 1917-October 1917, McGill discussed life at Camp Mills, where he was a member of the 69th Infantry Regiment, Company M. He mentioned daily activities, such as drilling, and told stories about other soldiers, including one who committed suicide. In November 1917, he wrote a brief account of his voyage to Europe on the USS Agamemnon, and, from December 1917-October 1918, he shared news from France. McGill commented on the scenery and local customs, and occasionally referred to his participation in active combat. He described aspects of life in the trenches, such as soldiers' propensity for losing personal items, the difficulty of adapting to the noise of shellfire, the effects of a mustard gas attack on his regiment, and plane crashes. While traveling behind the front, McGill and other soldiers sometimes bathed in shell-holes. He composed his final from Camp Hill, Virginia, in March 1919. Undated items include a Christmas card, a coupon entitling McGill to a Christmas package, and two embroidered cloths. Enclosures include a snapshot of a soldier, newspaper clippings, and ephemera from McGill's time on the Agamemnon.