Excerpt from War Memories

Here it is - a little book which reflects upon every page the intimate heart-life of the American boy in France, during the World War - what he saw and felt and thought and did, not only in the great crises of battle; but on the march and in the camp - setting forth the first impressions made upon a soldier's mind, under foreign skies, at the cannon 's mouth, and revealing the fact that everywhere and always his thoughts were of the dear ones at home, thousands of miles across the seas.

It is like a mirror in its faithful reproduction of the simpler elements which enter into vast and splen did scenes. We have heard much of general move ments; of grand climaxes; of superb exhibitions of man-power, in rthe aggregate; of millions, upon one side, confronting millions upon another; and so vast has been the picture presented to our minds that we have utterly failed to grasp it, except in its out standing characteristics. We have heard too little of the human side of the great wan - too little ofthe things which carry a direct appeal to the deep heart of America. We have been hungry for the minor details - for the smaller threads for the frag mentary episodes and incidents - for the rare and delicate and tender touches of color which are need ed to complete the picture, and to give it beauty, pathos, power and charm.

Ever since, in the lone solitudes of the night, we first began to wonder where our boys were, on the other side - if they were still safe - we have longed for such a book; and so far as our personal observa tion extends it is the very first book of this character to appear in print, on either side of the water. The experiences of one soldier are not unlike those of another; and every fond parent who reads this book will feel that his or her boy is writing, though it may be that his spirit now looks down upon them from the unseen halls of the Great Valhalla.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.