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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 81st Aero Squadron; 1108th Aero Squadron; 493rd Aero Squadron, Technical Section; Casual Company 3, Air Service
  • Location of Service: New York; Texas; France
  • Highest Rank: Corporal

View full service history

“I never told you about the front Ma, because I was afraid you would worry but now it is all over and safe I guess it is alright.” (Letter to Mother, 11/23/1918)

As Corporal Francis Mahoney served in France, he wrote regularly to his mother, assuring her that he was in good health and providing frequent updates on two of a soldier’s most important concerns – his pay and his mail. But following the armistice, he was able to share more details. He spent his first winter in France building barracks in frigid conditions, and saw many of the men around him die of pneumonia. He went on to serve at the front as a truck driver, narrowly avoiding enemy artillery, though some of his comrades were not so lucky. Mahoney describes the loss of life on the front as “an every day occurrence.”

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[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Letter to "Ma" from Francis E. Mahoney [11/20/1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [12/20/1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother and Sister from Francis E. Mahoney [12/23/1917] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [4/29/1918 ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [5/23/1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [6/24/1918] ]

Show more resources (15)

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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [7/8/1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [7/10/1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [7/30/1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [11/23/1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [11/30/1918] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [12/8/1918] ]
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[ Typewritten letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [2/12/1919] ]
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[ Letter to Mother and Sister from Francis E. Mahoney [3/4/1919] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [3/9/1919] ]
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[ Letter to Mother from Francis E. Mahoney [4/30/1919] ]
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[ Letter from Jean McCarthy, wife of Senator Joseph McCarthy, to Mr. and Mrs. Mahoney [6/12/1957] ]
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[ Letter from Evelyn Lincoln, President Kennedy's personal secretary, to Mr. Mahoney [4/10/1963]. ]
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[ Memorandum on the promotion of Corporal Mahoney to Sergeant [11/9/1918] ]
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[ Book: "Dear Ma…" Letters from the Front by Francis Edward Mahoney, original letters from World War I [1917-1919] ]
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[ Birth certificate for Francis Edward Mahoney ]

About this Item

Title

  • Francis Edward Mahoney Collection

Names

  • Mahoney, Francis Edward
  • Callister, Elizabeth

State of Birth

  • MA

Home State

  • FL

Headings

  • -  Mahoney, Francis Edward
  • -  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: 81st Aero Squadron; 1108th Aero Squadron; 493rd Aero Squadron, Technical Section; Casual Company 3, Air Service
    • Location of Service: New York; Texas; France
    • Highest Rank: Corporal
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected 1917)
  • Manuscript: Civilian papers (certificates, forms, wills, etc) [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 10/15/1942)
  • Manuscript: Book [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 2011)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [19 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1918 - 1963)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of photographic print [2 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 11/08/1918)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/101320

Cite as

  • Francis Edward Mahoney Collection (AFC/2001/001/101320), 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:

Mahoney, Francis Edward, and Elizabeth Callister. Francis Edward Mahoney Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.101320/.

APA citation style:

Mahoney, F. E. & Callister, E. (1917) Francis Edward Mahoney Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.101320/.

MLA citation style:

Mahoney, Francis Edward, and Elizabeth Callister. Francis Edward Mahoney Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.101320/>.