If you want a nice, affordable and representative letter from an American serviceman written "somewhere in France" during The Great War, this is it. Nothing spectacular in terms of battle content, U-boats or rants about the Kaiser. I love those letters, of course. But these everyday letters really speak to the mindset of the soldier and his love for family and friends.

 

In this two-page (front/back) letter, Sergeant Glenmar W. McCambridge writes to his father and updates Dad on other Washington, D.C. men serving in the American Expeditionary Forces. The letter is dated from March of 1918, so there is plenty of trench warfare ahead before the Armistace. McCambridge also writes -- most thoughtfully, I think -- about how he is having 20 dollars a month taken directly from his army paycheck and deposited into a neighborhood bank back home. He is concerned that the folks will be able to access the account "in case anything should happen" to him over in France. He likes his tent and tentmates. He reports on the cold winter weather. And he is already eager to get home.

Just a touching and perfectly representative letter of what any doughboy, noncom or officer might send home. The cover is wonderful with great postmarks, a nice football cancel and a heavy censor's mark and signature. Put this one in your WW 1 collection and watch the value increase as the American WW 1 centennial approaches. Our friends on the other side will be marking the centennial in a little over a year and a half. And 2017 isn't too far off for us either!