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

This collection consists of letters that Lieutenant Randal H. Crouse wrote to his mother, Lillie M. Crouse, while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Crouse described his experiences at Camp Hancock, Georgia, and in France, where he often commented on life near the front. The collection also has postcards, documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

This collection contains 85 letters that Lieutenant Randal H. Crouse wrote to his mother, Lillie M. Crouse, while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The collection also has 4 letters by other writers, 9 postcards, 4 documents, 15 photographs, and 29 newspaper clippings (including 7 duplicates) related to Crouse's time in the military.

The Correspondence series (89 items) comprises the bulk of the collection and consists mostly of the letters that Randal Crouse sent to his divorced mother, Lillie M. Crouse, from Camp Hancock, Georgia, and France between September 1917 and April 1919. At Camp Hancock, he discussed the reorganization of his Pennsylvania National Guard unit into the 112th Infantry Regiment and mentioned several specific training exercises, including some involving gas masks (January 27, 1918). He described other aspects of camp and military life and, upon his arrival in France around May 1918, provided his impressions of the scenery and people, as well as descriptions of his experiences at the front. Soon after his arrival, he reported hearing nearby artillery fire and shared his awe at the multicultural makeup of the allied forces, which included soldiers from a number of foreign countries (May 27, 1918). Though he remained optimistic about the war's imminent end, Crouse mentioned his participation in some difficult fighting, credited the Germans with putting up a strong resistance, and described airplane crashes he had witnessed (August 17, 1918). By October 30, 1918, he expressed his relief at being transferred to a safer area following weeks of hard fighting, and on November 3, 1918, he described a one-day visit to Paris.

Following the signing of the Armistice, Crouse revealed more details about military actions he had participated in, including movements near Metz, and expressed his surprise upon hearing of the large scale of the influenza epidemic, from which the war had distracted him. In his letter of December 4, 1918, he copied several pages from a captured German diary that described the advance on Paris in September 1914; the letter also encloses a printed map of a portion of the Western Front near the end of the war. Throughout the spring of 1919, Crouse continued to discuss his travels through France and his anticipation of a return to the United States.

The series has 4 letters by other correspondents, including 3 by Lillie M. Crouse, who wrote a letter to her son while he attended a summer camp (July 13, 1908), prematurely reported Germany's surrender (November 7, 1918), and expressed her wish for military volunteers to displace active service veterans (March 31, 1919). Jordy L. Stafer, a soldier, also wrote a letter to Lillie M. Crouse, whom he knew from York (October 9, 1918).

The Postcards and Greeting Card series (7 items) contains mail that Randal Crouse sent to his mother during the war. The postcards show scenery in Germany and in Glasgow, Scotland, and one is a photographic postcard of Crouse in uniform. The Christmas card has a drawing of an American soldier reading with a young girl.

Documents (4 items) include a memorandum by W. H. Hay commending the service of the 28th Division of the United States Army, as well as 2 items related to the allotment of Randal Crouse's pay to his mother. Also present is a photographic card identifying Crouse as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces.

The Photographs series (15 items) has 6 snapshots of soldiers, including 2 taken in front of a cannon; 2 larger formal portraits of Randal H. Crouse; and 7 small snapshots of a soldier smoking a cigar and an old European building.

Newspaper clippings (29 items) primarily concern the actions of the 28th Division of the United States Army, including several reprinted letters that Randal Crouse sent to his mother while serving overseas, taken from the Gazette and Daily (York, Pa.) and other papers. Seven of the items are duplicates.

This collection contains 24 letters, 18 postcards, and 1 greeting card that Private First Class Thomas Knowles of New Bedford, Massachusetts, sent to Ruth Blaisdell of Waltham, Massachusetts, while he served with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during and just after World War I. Knowles described his experiences while serving at the front with the 101st Engineer Regiment, while recuperating from an injury, and while traveling in France, Luxembourg, and Germany with a military unit attached to a press corps.

This collection contains 24 letters, 18 postcards, and 1 greeting card that Private First Class Thomas Knowles of New Bedford, Massachusetts, sent to Ruth Blaisdell of Waltham, Massachusetts, while he served with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during and just after World War I. Knowles described his experiences while serving at the front with the 101st Engineer Regiment, while recuperating from an injury, and while traveling in France, Luxembourg, and Germany after the war with a military unit attached to a press corps.

Knowles wrote one letter to Blaisdell from Boston, Massachusetts, in September 1917, while awaiting his deployment overseas; an undated letter recounts his journey from England to France. He sent his first letter from France on October 25, 1917. He discussed his quarters and the food in France, and described his experiences, including active combat, while serving with Company C of the 101st Engineer Regiment. Knowles commented on his difficulty sleeping during his time in the trenches, and described the events that had led to his hospitalization; he received treatment for a leg wound and gas exposure (June 5, 1918). After spending time at a hospital and a recuperation camp, where he commented on the good treatment that he received, Knowles was assigned to an army unit that accompanied newspaper correspondents.

In his later letters, most of which date after the armistice, Knowles wrote about his travels in France, Luxembourg, and Germany with press corps "section G 2-D." The collection also includes 18 postcards depicting cathedrals, streets, and other scenes from his post-armistice experiences, occasionally with his brief comments or personal notes, as well as 1 German-language New Year's greeting card.