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Newsclipping: "Gives Graphic Glimpse of War on Western Front" December 28, 1917.

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Medical Corps, 2nd Army, 2nd Division, attached to 100th Ambulance British Expeditionary Force
  • Location of Service: France; Belgium; Germany
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/1379

View full service history

"Then the wounded began to come back. Some wrecked forever, others soon to be no more, all flushed with excitement, but glad to be at last out of that awful hell." (Letter to his sister, December 9, 1917)

Many American physicians who served in World War I, like Eugene Curtin, shipped out to Europe sooner than their comrades in arms. The British government, whose army medical corps had been decimated by nearly three years of fighting, aggressively recruited American doctors to be attached to the British Army. Curtin's correspondence with his family and friends painted contrasting pictures of his hosts in England (cold, distant) and France (grateful, gracious). Working close to the front in France, he was appalled by what he saw. "They speak of the grandeur of war," he wrote. "There is no such thing; it's just a deadly, sickening, bloody slaughter."

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[ Letter to Mother and Girls [July 23, 1917] ]

More Resources

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[ Letter to Mother [July 30, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Agnes [August 4, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother and Sisters [August 12, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [August 16, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [August 20, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [August 28, 1917] ]

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[ Letter to Mother [September 16, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Frank [September 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [September 30, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Uncle [October 8, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [October 14, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [October 30, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [November 4, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [November 8, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to mother [November 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Uncle [November 16, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to brother Vince [November 17, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [November 22, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [November 26, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [December 6, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Clare [December 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [December 15, 1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother "and all the Girls" [January 7, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [January 21, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [February 3, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [February 13 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [February 28, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [March 12, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [March 28, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [March 29, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [April 5, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Uncle [April 15, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to brother Vince [April 22, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [May 2, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [May 11, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Aunt Mary [ May 15, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [May 21, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Kate [June 5, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [June 15, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [June 24, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [July 14, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [July 17, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [July 25, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [August 15, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [ August 27, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [September 6, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [September 23, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [September 29, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [October 13, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [undated] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [November 3, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [November 14, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [November 26, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [Sunday December 8, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [undated] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [ December 30, 1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [January 13, 1919] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [February 3, 1919] ]
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[ Cast and description of scenes for a play, "Love in a Whirlpool" ]
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[ Letter to Mother [March 24, 1919] ]
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[ Letter to Mother [April 19, 1918] ]
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[ Newsclipping from the Times, "Gives Graphic Glimpse of War on Western Front" [December 28, 1917] ]
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[ Newsclipping from the Times ]
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[ Newsclipping, "Story of a Great Battle" ]

About this Item

Title

  • Eugene A. Curtin Collection

Names

  • Curtin, Vincent C.
  • Curtin, Eugene A.

Headings

  • -  Curtin, Eugene A.
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Form

  • Correspondence

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Service Unit/Ship: Medical Corps, 2nd Army, 2nd Division, attached to 100th Ambulance British Expeditionary Force
    • Location of Service: France; Belgium; Germany
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran sustained combat/service-related injuries (gassed).

Materials

  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- (collected 1917-1919)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1379

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Curtin, Vincent C, and Eugene A Curtin. Eugene A. Curtin Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01379/.

APA citation style:

Curtin, V. C. & Curtin, E. A. (1917) Eugene A. Curtin Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01379/.

MLA citation style:

Curtin, Vincent C, and Eugene A Curtin. Eugene A. Curtin Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01379/>.