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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.

The Irl Potter Haynes correspondence is made up of over 100 typewritten letters from Irl Haynes to his wife Josephine Haynes while serving in the YMCA as part of the American Expeditionary Forces in the United States and France during and after World War I. Haynes received transportation training in the summer and fall of 1918 at "College Camp", Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; New York City; and Hoboken, New Jersey. He worked for the YMCA as a cashier/financial manager at the Hotel Pavillon in Paris from November or December 1918 to June 1919, and at the "Garden" soda fountain from June to at least December 1919.

In June 1918, Haynes underwent training at the Lake Geneva Encampment of The Young Men's Christian Association College at "College Camp", Wisconsin, serving in both secretarial and physical capacities. He arrived in Washington, D.C., in July 1918 and by October, he had settled into a training regimen and as a physical director in New York City. During his time in New York, he received mail and regularly visited the International and War Work Council Headquarters at 347 Madison Avenue. In the city, he wrote letters about crowds and sightseeing in New York, working on learning to drive different trucks, and volunteering at the transport school at Hoboken, New Jersey. He also described armistice celebrations in New York City.

Around November 18, 1918, Haynes shipped out on board the Lamport & Holt Line, S.S. Vauban, arriving in Paris in early December. He started working in a garage after his arrival and shortly thereafter, as cashier at the Hotel Pavillon. In regular letters, he shared with his wife observations on different areas of the city; attendance at prizefights, shows, and other entertainment; discussions of French women, a Belgian nurse, and other women; and updates on mutual friend Catherine Stinson and Irl's friends Jo Barnard and "Hayden". He wrote about everyday life, including information on acquiring and washing clothing, costs of living, the weather, food, the home he stayed in, aspects of his work, reading and writing, health and medical treatment (requesting at times for his wife to send him particular medicines), visits to the Red Cross, typewriters, securing souvenirs, and interacting with other Americans in Paris. Early after his arrival in France, he talked of censorship and the censors mutilated at least two of his letters (December 12 and 20, 1918). In one instance, he mentioned that the hotel would be temporarily restricted because of the flu (February 26, [1919]). The subjects of Irl's letters changed little after taking on new employment at the "Garden" soda fountain in June 1919, though he included details about his new responsibilities.

Irl Haynes clearly felt the distance from his family and the correspondence with his wife regularly included requests for information about their children, discussions about the children's education, thoughts on a newly purchased piano and on whether or not the family would buy a dog, queries about health, and talk of financial matters. He emphasized the importance of reading to the children, particularly Bible stories.

Irl Haynes wrote a few of his letters on the reverse side of a typed 1-page daily serial titled "THE KIT BAG : Trials and Smiles Concerning the Overseas Conferences of the YMCA" ed. Ira C. Young and Robert Good out of the Bristol Hotel, New York City, November 2, 1918-November 12, 1918. The serial is illustrated with a suitcase marked "O.K. BRISTOL Y.M.C.A. A.E.F."

The collection includes a 1-page illustrated printed flier titled "'On to Victory' From painting by Edgard Léon. Copyright 1917" with the text of "A MESSAGE TO HEROIC FRANCE", also by Edgard Léon (Polytechnic Institute, Kansas City, Mo.).

Irl Haynes copied two poems into his letters, which were written or partially written by his friend and colleague "Hayden":

• "The Flag" by "Hayden" (January 10-14, [1919])
• "Mrs. Malone and the Censor" by unidentified and "Hayden" (February 23, [1919])

The Walter Crane papers contain 88 letters, 2 postcards, and 1 Christmas card written by Corporal Crane to Ruth Backof, a former high school classmate, while he served in the Machine Gun Company of the 138th Infantry Regiment during the First World War. He described his experiences in training at Camp Clark, Missouri, and Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma. Crane also reported extensively on his involvement in combat along the Western Front, including his service in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and on life in the trenches.

The Walter Crane papers contain 88 letters, 2 postcards, and 1 Christmas card written by Corporal Crane to Ruth Backof, a former high school classmate, while he served in the Machine Gun Company of the 138th Infantry Regiment during the First World War.

Crane wrote his first letters while training at Camp Clark in Nevada, Missouri, in September 1917. He inquired about mutual friends and reminisced about his time at McKinley High School in St. Louis, Missouri. After moving to Oklahoma's Camp Doniphan in late October, he discussed his fellow soldiers, training exercises, and leisure activities. On December 25, 1917, he copied lyrics to a soldiers' song entitled "When Our Machine Guns Are Starting to Roar (for Me and My Gal)," and mentioned that his unit played sports in their spare time. Several envelopes bear the skull-and-crossbones insignia of the 138th Infantry Regiment's Machine Gun Company.

In April 1918, Crane moved to Camp Mills on Long Island, New York, and made final preparations to travel overseas. A May 14, 1918, letter provides an account of the trip. He first wrote from France on May 25, 1918, describing his journey across England. The remaining letters contain his impressions of France and news of his military engagements. Crane's vivid war letters mention both simulated battles (July 30, 1918) and real engagements. His stories of life in the trenches include several featuring trench rats. Between August and October, he wrote about his experiences in combat along the front lines just before and during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive -- the letters dated August 18, 1918, and October 6, 1918, are especially detailed. After November 1918, Crane’s company stayed in training near "Grimaucourt," France, despite the armistice. He continued to describe his daily life and on December 12, 1918, he copied three pages of poetry written by Sergeant S. F. McElhiney, a member of his company. On April 23, 1919, he wrote his final long letter while aboard the USS Kroonland, and, after he landed in the United States on the 29th, he sent Ruth a brief telegram.

The two French postcards are dated October 9 and December 21, 1918, and the Christmas card (1917) bears the insignia of Crane's unit. These three items are filed with the correspondence.