At the Front in a World War I Field Hospital: The Diaries and Letters of a 1st Sergeant in France (EPUB)

From his post with Field Hospital No. 33 in the U.S. Army 4th Division, 1st. Sgt. Leland Brown wrote voluminously of his experiences during World War I. His letters and diaries, collected by his son, form the basis of this personal record of a young soldier’s service on the front.

Sgt. Brown was a recent graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917. He kept a diary while training at Camp Greene in North Carolina, and continued journaling in Europe, writing nearly daily of training, transport and what he encountered on the front in eastern France. Sgt. Brown also recounts his gassing by a German artillery shell and his subsequent rehabilitation before returning to his company in Germany after the Armistice.

Within his harrowing personal account, Sgt. Brown mentions more than 100 fellow soldiers of his company. This work also presents some of their stories in brief, contributing to a full, rich portrait of Sgt. Leland Brown’s service.