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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company E, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division
  • Location of Service: Camp Travis, Texas; Camp Mills, Long Island, New York; England; France
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant

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"Believe me I sure would like to have a great big talk with you all for I’ve certainly got lots to tell." Last letter from Otto Leven, 9/27/1918

Otto Leven served in the army during World War I. He was of hearty German stock (his parents immigrated to America around 1886) and spent most of his twenty-three civilian years on his family's farms in Kay County and Newkirk, Oklahoma. Drafted in October 1917, he was assigned to the 90th Infantry Division and served in the 357th Regiment. Leven apparently wrote home copiously, his surviving letters projecting earnestness charm, and enthusiasm. Leven was mortally wounded while on patrol on September 29, 1918 and died two days later. His last letters home offer the reader an irony created by the contrast between Leven's generally cheery prose and the harshness of war. The irony is further defined by Leven's description of a dream he has where he envisions his mother and sister laying out his clothes.

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[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ Otto Leven's death certificate [02/03/1919] ]
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[ Letter from the American Red Cross concerning Otto Leven's death in France [05/17/1919] ]
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[ Military orders shipping remains of Otto to Newkirk, Ok [04/26/1922] ]
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[ Letter from Camp Travis, TX [11/17/1917] ]
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[ Letter from Camp Travis, TX [11/29/1917] ]
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[ Letter from Camp Travis, TX [05/22/1918] ]

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[ Letter probably from Camp Mills, NY [06/15/1918] ]
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[ Letter from Camp Mills, NY [07/03/1918] ]
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[ Letter "Somewhere France" [07/10/1918] ]
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[ Letter "Somewhere France" [07/21/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [07/27/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [08/03/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [08/10/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [08/15/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [08/26/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [08/27/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [09/07/1918] ]
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[ Letter from France [09/23/1918] ]
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[ Last letter from Otto Leven, written from France [09/27/1918] ]
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[ Letter from Captain Neighbors, Leven's commanding officer, to his parents [11/20/1918] ]
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[ Letter from Chaplain Magee to Otto Leven's parents [12/26/1918] ]
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[ Typed letter from Capt. Neighbors, Otto Leven's commanding officer [02/10/1919] ]
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[ Typed letter from Captain Neighbors, Otto Leven's commanding officer [02/10/1919] ]
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[ Journal of Otto Leven ]
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[ Newkirk Doughboy "Uncle" Otto Leven ]
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[ Newspaper clipping reprinting Otto Leven's final letter of September 27, 1918 ]

About this Item

Title

  • Otto Ferdinand Leven Collection

Names

  • Leven, Andrew
  • Leven, Otto Ferdinand

State of Birth

  • IL

Home State

  • OK

Headings

  • -  Leven, Otto Ferdinand
  • -  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
    • Unit of Service: Company E, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division
    • Location of Service: Camp Travis, Texas; Camp Mills, Long Island, New York; England; France
    • Highest Rank: Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1918
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 02/2007)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [5 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1918 - 1922)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [17 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1917 - 1918)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [6 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1918 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918)
  • Photograph: Photocopy of photographic print [3 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected unknown)
  • Artifact: Artifact [1 item] -- (collected 10/1918)
  • Photograph: Digital print [4 items] -- Photograph (collected 09/2014)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [17 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 1917 - 1918)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1918)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [4 items] -- Photograph (collected 1916 - 1917)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [5 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1916 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [6 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1918 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [4 items] -- Handwritten document (collected 08/1918)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [4 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918 - 2008)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [17 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1917 - 1919)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [25 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1918 - 2003)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- Handwritten document (collected 1918)
  • Manuscript: Civilian papers (certificates, forms, wills, etc) [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 01/27/1919)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/49807

Cite as

  • Otto Ferdinand Leven Collection (AFC/2001/001/49807), 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:

Leven, Andrew, and Otto Ferdinand Leven. Otto Ferdinand Leven Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.49807/.

APA citation style:

Leven, A. & Leven, O. F. (1917) Otto Ferdinand Leven Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.49807/.

MLA citation style:

Leven, Andrew, and Otto Ferdinand Leven. Otto Ferdinand Leven Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.49807/>.