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Charles Thomsen in uniform [1917]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Service Unit/Ship: Company A, 1st Engineer Battalion; Company C, 11th Engineer Regiment (Railway); 107th Engineers; American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
  • Location of Service: Fort Slocum, New York; Fort Totten, New York; Washington Barracks, DC; Cambrai, France; Langres, France
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/44459

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"Conditions have been such that to keep my mind on home would be disastrous." (Letter to his mother, 12/17/1919)

Writing to his mother in December 1917, First Lieutenant Charles James Thomsen relates, "So much to do that I never find time to spend writing." Perhaps as a result, the handful of letters in his collection tell the reader very little about the details of his experience serving as an Army engineer with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in 1917 and 1918. Instead, they contain reports on the status of care packages, requests for information about the folks back home, and messages of enduring love--in other words, all of the hallmarks of letters sent by soldiers stationed abroad. His language may seem antiquated, but his brief notes illustrate that some aspects of military correspondence remain remarkably consistent, no matter the conflict.

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[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Officer's Record Book ]
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[ Honorable Discharge [8/1/1919] ]
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[ Official statement of military service [7/21/1921] ]
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[ Certificate appointing Thomsen a First Lieutenant in the United States Army [11/5/1918] ]
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[ Military record of service for Charles Thomasen [3/9/1919] ]
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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [5/30/1913] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [9/13/1913] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [9/20/1913] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother, written aboard the U.S.S. Carpathia [7/28/1917] ]

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[ Postcard from Charles Thomsen to his mother [ca. 1917] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [11/22/1917] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [12/8/1917] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [12/17/1917] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [1/13/1918] ]

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[ Letter from Charles Thomsen to his mother [4/6/1918] ]

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About this Item

Title

  • Charles James Thomsen Collection

Names

  • Thomson-Mann, Margaret
  • Thomsen, Charles James

Headings

  • -  Thomsen, Charles James
  • -  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: Company A, 1st Engineer Battalion; Company C, 11th Engineer Regiment (Railway); 107th Engineers; American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
    • Location of Service: Fort Slocum, New York; Fort Totten, New York; Washington Barracks, DC; Cambrai, France; Langres, France
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran also served from 3/11/1911 to 3/16/1914 earning the rank of corporal before reenlisting in the Army in 1917. He was shipped overseas 7/14/1917. Veteran was slightly wounded during the Aisne-Marne Offensive in France on 8/3/1918. In addition to participating in several operations, veteran was also part of the Army of Occupation forces 12/30/1918 to 4/15/1919.

Materials

  • Photograph: Photographic print [1 item] -- Photographs (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Civilian papers (certificates, forms, wills, etc) [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military Papers [4 items] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [10 items] -- Handwritten document (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [2 items] -- Photographs (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/44459

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:

Thomson-Mann, Margaret, and Charles James Thomsen. Charles James Thomsen Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.44459/.

APA citation style:

Thomson-Mann, M. & Thomsen, C. J. (1917) Charles James Thomsen Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.44459/.

MLA citation style:

Thomson-Mann, Margaret, and Charles James Thomsen. Charles James Thomsen Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.44459/>.