A World War 1 Soldier Writes Home - Background

Hi! My name is Bob, but what I want to share here is not about me. It's about a man named Clyde. Clyde is my wife, Linda, and her sister, Pam's, paternal grandfather, a Great War American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) soldier who died as a result of being gassed during his time in Belgium and France. During his stateside training and overseas service, he wrote to provide some information to his folks and family. Several dozens of these communications addressed to his Aunt Nel who lived in New York City were left to us when his last surviving sibling, Doris, passed several years ago. We had developed quite a warm relationship with her in the 1990s and early 2000s, visiting her frequently while she resided at The Thanksgiving Home and The Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown, NY.

 My intention is to transcribe those letters on this forum to allow Clyde's remaining descendants and interested parties an opportunity to read his correspondence more than a century later. In assembling these letters, I also discovered a diary he kept in transit and while in Europe that I will include here as well. However, the diary is in poor condition and will be a challenge to decipher but will provide important information and context to his letters. The letters begin in March 1917 and go through May 1919. The diary goes from July 1917 to May 1919 as well. By presenting both sources concurrently, all transcribed material will be in chronological order.

First, however, I want to provide some background genealogical data on his family; a family portrait with some demographics; a brief sketch of his military service; and a look at his short life after his military career.

Genealogical Background -

Clyde was born on Sept. 16, 1895, in Mt. Vision near Cooperstown, NY and died there on May 30, 1924, from lung disease resulting from damage due to poison gas exposure suffered during the war. He was the oldest of four children and was descended from a Puritan family that emigrated from Devonshire, England to Boston, Massachusetts in 1635. After moving to Braintree, they settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where generations of the family resided until after the American Revolutionary War. 

Clyde descended from a soldier, Eleazer, who served in the Continental Army. It is documented and verified that Eleazer served under General Howe in 1780. (Reference ... Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Vol 2, pg. 180) After the Revolutionary War, Eleazer and his family moved to upstate New York.

There are also references in genealogical notes kept by both Doris and her twin sister, Delia, that Eleazer served earlier and fought at the 1777 Battle of Saratoga in upstate NY. I am still trying to sort out this claim and will update this information if I am successful.

Clyde's Immediate Family

Photo of family about time Clyde graduated HS

Back Row L to R -

Claude (7/25/1899 - 4/2/1982)

Clyde (9/16/1895 - 5/30/1924

Front Row L to R -

Emmett (8/7/1869 - 3/13/1944

Delia (10/11/1908 - 10/1988

Bessie (3/7/1879 - 5/28/1967

Doris (10/11/1908 - 1/19/2007)

Summary of Clyde's Military Service -

Correspondence from Headquarters, 27th Division, New York National Guard dated July 20, 1923 and from the Adjutant General's Office, War Department, Washington, D.C. dated Jan. 5, 1925 confirms the following service (general information added for context) -

Nov. 18, 1914 - enlisted in Company C, 1st Infantry, New York National Guard

Oct. 6, 1916 - transferred to Company M, 1st Infantry, New York National Guard

April 6, 1917 - America enters into World War I

July 15, 1917 - mustered into U.S. Service as Sergeant

Oct. 1, 1917 - transferred to Company M, 107th Infantry

May 9, 1918 - left from Newport News, Virginia for foreign service - Company M, 107th Infantry, 27th Division boarded the USS Susquehanna and the USS Antigone, former German ocean liners which were now put to work carrying American troops

May 24, 1918 - arrived in France and served in Belgium and France in support of the British Army in the Dickenbusch Lake and Scherpenberg Sector (Flanders), Ypres-Lys and Second Somme Offensive

Aug. 14, 1918 - gassed during battle, but able to continue - gases used by the German Army included chlorine, mustard gas, bromine and phosgene

Nov. 1, 1918 - promoted to Second Lieutenant and transferred to the 112th Infantry

Nov. 11, 1918 - end of war

April 30, 1919 - returned to US

May 6, 1919 - honorably discharged at Fort Dix, NJ.

Brief Account of Clyde's Life After Discharge -

June 11, 1919 - following his Honorable Discharge, he married his pre-war love, Anna (6/22/96 - 4/1/76) 

Dec. 16, 1921 - Clyde and Anna had a son, John (Linda and Pam's father; 12/16/21-5/25/94)

May 30, 1924 - Clyde died after a long, debilitating and progressive lung disease, ending with Tuberculosis which was contracted during his numerous hospitalizations and convalescences in sanatoriums in vain attempts to provide palliative care for his damaged lungs.

 Photo of Clyde and Anna

Next up - Earliest Service Related Letter Found - March 5, 1917 . New postings every Sunday.