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(WORLD WAR I DIARY): Soldier's diary written in pen and pencil, approx. 170pp+. 8vo., by Private...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
(WORLD WAR I DIARY): Soldier's diary written in pen and pencil, approx. 170pp+. 8vo., by Private...
(WORLD WAR I DIARY): Soldier's diary written in pen and pencil, approx. 170pp+. 8vo., by Private C. A. Barr of Altoona Pa., documenting his service during the First World War from May 22, 1917 to May 15, 1919. The diary begins with his call to service with the 5th. Reserve Engineers. While in camp, he worked as a cook, and the entries are filled with the usual weather and other odds and ends. His regiment shipped out of Pennsylvania on July 8 and arrived in New York the next morning and boarded a White Star liner, the S.S. Baltic, which departed that evening. The voyage was fairly uneventful, and he describes the zig zag patterns of the convoys and the endless lifeboat, fire and submarine drills onboard ship. On July 12 they entered "the danger zone" and were required to wear life vests at all times. He arrived in Liverpool on July 20 and traveled by train to the outskirts of London. He soon departed for France where he was aboard a train by the 27th. For the next several months, his regiment was posted in various locations including Orleans, Brittany, and other localities working on various projects including the construction of barracks, water lines, and railroads. His company did not get anywhere near the front until the fall of 1917. In early 1918 the regiment worked on a large airfield near Nancy where every few nights their camp awoke to the sounds of German bombers raiding the area, just to break the monotony. During a short visit to Toul, they visited the cathedral where they could clearly make out the German lines form the top. By the time of the Armistice, the 15th. was stationed in Aix-les-Bains. Soon they were in Sedan where they completed the rail line between Verdun and Sedan on Dec. 24, 1918. After a stay in Bordeaux through January of 1919, he was "selected to go thru Balkan states as representative of Peace Commission..." but the next day he "...Declined would rather go home...". Several days later he was ordered to go to Paris "to report to Peace Commission..." and was assigned "to Romania as a technical man...". Within several days that assignment was cancelled. On Tuesday Feb. 18, 1919 he reported that he "Saw Petain...Saw Wilson...Clemenceau...Pershing, King of Italy, King of Montenegro - Spoke to Prince of Wales..." Soon he was back in Bordeaux where he remained until he shipped out on Apr. 13, 1919 arriving at pier 5 in Hoboken on Apr. 27. Covers worn and spine loose but intact, light soiling, otherwise very good condition. $400-600