Paul Eliot Green papers, (#3693)

About this book

Joining the army at age 23, Green served with the 105th Engineers, 30th Division. Letters to various family members during his years of service date from the summer of 1917 until June 1919 which include detailed descriptions of training camp life while he was based both at Camp Greene and Camp Sevier, South Carolina, his engineer's training, where he learned to build roads and bridges, and also describes the process of using a gas mask. During the summer of 1918, while in combat in France and Belgium, Green's letters are about the horror he witnessed on the front. After the war, he was stationed in Paris where he worked for the Engineer Purchasing Office and was also commissioned second lieutenant with the Chief of Engineers. He was particularly taken with life in Paris after the war, and his letters describe several French intellectuals who made a lasting impression on him.