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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company A, 344th Machine Gun Battalion, 90th Division, American Expeditionary Forces; Company L, 357th Infantry Regiment
  • Location of Service: Camp Travis, Texas; England; France
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

View full service history

“Fine day but we did not enjoy it much… One shell wounded three this evening. Have dysentery & fever. Am so weak I can hardly get around.” (Diary, 10/27/1918)

In 1917, Norvel Preston Clotfelter’s life was upended when he was drafted into the Army. But one thing did not change – he had been keeping a diary since 1912, a habit he would maintain for 37 years, and the 17 months he spent in the Army were no exception. Clotfelter noted his unit’s movements, the weather, commented on the food and briefly described his duties. As he served with the 357th Infantry Regiment, he suffered dysentery, fever, lack of food and clean water and was eventually hospitalized with the Spanish Flu. As he recuperated, rumors of an armistice spread, and on November 11, 1918, he and his fellow patients listened as heavy artillery barrages ceased at exactly 11am.

View 30 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Letter from Joe Hunan [?] to Norvel Clotfelter [3/8/1920] ]
View 49 images in sequence.
[ The World War I Journals of Norvel P. Clotfelter [transcription] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Norvel Preston Clotfelter Collection

Names

  • Camenisch, Ruth
  • Clotfelter, Norvel Preston

State of Birth

  • IL

Home State

  • MO

Headings

  • -  Clotfelter, Norvel Preston
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company A, 344th Machine Gun Battalion, 90th Division, American Expeditionary Forces; Company L, 357th Infantry Regiment
    • Location of Service: Camp Travis, Texas; England; France
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [4 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918 - 1919)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [8 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917-1918)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [3 items] -- Transcription of document (collected 1917 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1918 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918 - 1919)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [10 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917 - 1919)
  • Photograph: Negatives [10 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 03/08/1920)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [6 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917 - 1960)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2386

Cite as

  • Norvel Preston Clotfelter Collection (AFC/2001/001/2386), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

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/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

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

Recording:

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

Photograph:

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

Computer file:

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

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), 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:

Camenisch, Ruth, and Norvel Preston Clotfelter. Norvel Preston Clotfelter Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02386/.

APA citation style:

Camenisch, R. & Clotfelter, N. P. (1917) Norvel Preston Clotfelter Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02386/.

MLA citation style:

Camenisch, Ruth, and Norvel Preston Clotfelter. Norvel Preston Clotfelter Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02386/>.