Letters written by Walter Vernon Pirtle to Louise Covey, Cullison, Kansas. The letters dated August-December 1917 were written in Pratt, Kansas, where Walter was working for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. His letter of January 20, 1918 first mentions joining the U. S. Army and World War I. The March 3, 1918 letter was written from Camp Funston where he belonged to the Machine Gun Company 353rd Infantry, 89th Division. By June 5, 1918, he was on his way across the Atlantic Ocean to France. His letters written from July 1918 through April 1919 contain information about the war. After hostilities ceased on November 11, 1918 Walter's company assumed guard duty in the occupation force near Trier and Cologne, Germany. His last letter written from Germany is dated April 30, 1919. The 89th Division returned to America in the spring of 1919. Walter was mustered out on June 2, 1919 after fifteen months of service. Also included with the letters are postcards of Trier, Germany.
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