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Irving Greenwald [ca. 1918]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: E Company, 308th Infantry Regiment
  • Location of Service: Camp Upton, New York; France
  • Highest Rank: Private First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/101358

View full service history

"I have a suspicion that we are to be moved tonight… I try to write in my anxiety to keep my mind from picturing the unknown horrors of my "prospective journey." (Diary, 10/22/1918)

Army Private Irving Greenwald's diary initially seems to be mostly fact-based, without a lot of extraneous emotional content. However, his entries quickly become jam-packed with rich historical details, and contain deeply poignant passages that convey the enormity of his experiences in a few concise sentences. A member of the "Lost Battalion," Greenwald was wounded in the Battle of the Argonne Forest, and his diary falls silent for just under a month. But he soon returned to writing, documenting his recovery and eventual return to the United States.

View Enlarged Image
[ World War I Army Diary of Private Irving Greenwald ]

More Resources

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Discharge certificate for Irving W. Greenwald [3/1/1919] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Irving W. Greenwald Collection

Names

  • Greenwald, Irving W.
  • Ullman, David S.

State of Residence at Time of Collection Donation

  • New York (State)

Headings

  • -  Greenwald, Irving W.
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

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: E Company, 308th Infantry Regiment
    • Location of Service: Camp Upton, New York; France
    • Highest Rank: Private First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Original photographic print [1 item] -- Photographs (collected 1917-1919)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [8 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918-1938)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918-1921)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [2 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1917-1919)
  • Manuscript: Military Papers [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1919-03-01)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [1 item] -- Photographs (collected 1917-1919)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of document (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: Flash Drive [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 2016-01-01)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/101358

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

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:

Greenwald, Irving W, and David S Ullman. Irving W. Greenwald Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.101358/.

APA citation style:

Greenwald, I. W. & Ullman, D. S. (1917) Irving W. Greenwald Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.101358/.

MLA citation style:

Greenwald, Irving W, and David S Ullman. Irving W. Greenwald Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.101358/>.