Pvt. E. R. Wirt Beneuvre Cote d'or

Co. A. 18th M. G. Bn. France

American E. F. Apr 10, 1919

G. Dearest:-

found two letters waiting
for me last night when we got
in from a mighty tough day. However
I did not get them till this morning.
We all just flopped last night when
we got in and even the labor nec-
cessary to prepare our beds was
torture. To get down to nuts we
were inspected and reviewed by
Gen. Pershing yesterday over beyond
Aignay le Duc. We started out Wed.
A. M. at 7 o clock and got to our camp-
ing place at 3 P. M., (7 hrs. hike with one
hr for dinner and rest) just in time
for a nice rain storm, that soaked
everything before we got our tents pitched.
It was a fine night for a fish.
At 3.45 yesterday we arose had
"chow" and started for the parade

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.

label levels:

Edward Wirt did not realize it when he wrote this letter, but he would soon be coming home. It was standard for units to be reviewed by the U.S. supreme commander, Gen. John Pershing, before they left France. By June, Wirt's division, the 6th, would return to the U.S. aboard the Leviathan, a converted luxury liner. Soon after, most of its soldiers, especially the draftees like Wirt, were discharged from the army. At the end of June, 1919, all the major powers signed the Versailles Treaty. It officially ended the World War. But although the treaty was intended, in the words of President Woodrow Wilson, to end "the war to end all wars," in fact its provisions created more problems. Only fourteen years later, Adolph Hitler was named Chancellor of Germany.
There are ninety letters from Mr. Wirt to Miss Bartlett in the PVMA collection; twelve of them are reproduced here.

top of page