War Diaries Talk

Capt. J. H. Ward, O.C. 1st Cavalry Field Ambulance

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    Inspired by Sarah and Marie's research in the 'German "smoke-gas detachment" ' thread, I decided to look up the O.C. of the 1st Cav. Field Amb., which I have been tagging. What I found was this: http://missourioverthere.org/explore/collections/boyce-joseph-collection/ It is a collection of letters sent to Joseph Boyce, an American in Missouri, and cousin of Capt. J. H. Ward. There are six letters, a postcard, and a report that Capt. Ward sent to his cousin. He asked that this be returned to him, but it apparently wasn't sent back as it is in the collection!

    The letters were all written during WWI. At the end of one, Capt. Ward includes his current address as C.O. of the 1st Cav. Field Ambulance, so I am sure this is the same person.

    It is very interesting to see the different personality in this letter. His diary entries are all very professional, no commentary good or bad, although not as terse as some I've come across. Just professional. Yet the personal letters allow him to express his opinions, which he is not shy to do.

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  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    Thanks for that good research information Cynthia, such interesting letters

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  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    This is brilliant, Cynthia - thanks! I've said it before, but I find the chance to get a real sense of the personalities behind the diaries to be one of the most fascinating aspects of this project.

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  • SarahtheEntwife by SarahtheEntwife

    Wow, what a great find!

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  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    Reading Capt. Ward's letters has made him come alive to me as I work through the diary. In particular, the fact that he told his cousin that the 1st C. F. A. was a very good unit with good officers and men impacts the way I see him.

    Rob, are those letters something that would be useful for Lives of the First World War?

    The Missouri Over There website also has some letters written by Harry Truman, long before he became President Truman towards the end of WW2, to his then girlfriend/fiancee Bess, who of course later became his wife.

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  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist in response to cgastwein@aol.com's comment.

    Absolutely - the best thing to do would be to link them to Capt. Ward's life story as an external resource.

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