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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

There Was a War

Do letters from the past fascinate you?  They do me, which is why I love Letters of Note.  The letter posted today is a perfect choice for Veteran's Day.  The following quote is from the introduction that precedes the letter.
"On November 11th of 1918, the First World War effectively came to an end with the signing of the armistice—an agreement between Allied and German forces to end, with immediate effect, all hostilies and withdraw troops from the battlefield. Peace, at last, after four years of fighting and more than 37 million deaths. Shortly after the armistice was signed, 26-year-old Lewis Plush—a lieutenant with the American Expeditionary Forces—wrote home to his parents and spoke with great eloquence of his experience. He returned home in February of 1919."  (via Letters of Note)

If you are interested in reading the remarkable letter from Lewis Plush to his parents, click here.  Plush describes his role in the war that opened in 1914, one hundred years ago, with elegant prose and touching memories of his role as a pilot, his friends, his experiences.

6 comments:

  1. What a beautiful and telling letter. Thank you for sharing, Jenclair. I'm not familiar with the website, but I will have to look around it when I have more time.

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    1. It is a beautiful letter and so well-written. I wish I could write that well, especially about such an intense subject. It is particularly moving when he writes about his friends.

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  2. Oh my dad loves reading these kind of books. I so need to recommend it to him! Thanks!

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    1. Letters of Note is a web site that posts interesting letters from famous and ordinary people who write about interesting things. This WWI letter is remarkable. Your dad would probably be interested in letters from historical and literary figures. :)

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  3. What a fascinating glimpse into the past. And that's a terrific website! I have spent some time on it in the past, but haven't poked around it any time recently. Will have to fix that!

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  4. I love visiting this site and seeing lists and letters! This one is really touching because of its historical interest and its humanity.

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