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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

World War I Remembered: 100 Years Later

World War I is among the least documented wars of those covered by the Veterans History Project, and the number of collections relating its experiences are not likely to grow dramatically. With limited amounts of oral histories, we must rely on the generosity of relatives and friends of deceased veterans to donate written accounts in letters, diaries, and memoirs, as well as precious collections of photographs. In 2014, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War II, the Veterans History Project launched this online presentation to highlight correspondence and photographs, diaries and memoirs that document veterans’ experiences in the Great War.

View the blog post related to this online presentation.

World War I: Correspondence and Photographs Letters written to communicate with loved ones, for modern audiences, provide vivid accounts of the war itself. Original photographs depict what might have been left out of personal correspondence--details of the experience considered too shocking or boring for those on the home front.
World War I: Diaries and Memoirs Whether they consist of brief notes about the weather conditions or the chow, or more elaborate entries about losing a comrade, original diaries stand as unmediated records of the war. These retrospective accounts place the events of the war in the context of what came next, and answer the question of what remains memorable many decades later.