Will, Grace, and World War One

Excerpts from November 29, 1918 My Dear Grace - Am going to steal a few minutes and write to you, seems as if I don't get time to write any one but you I owe so many letter, I am going to send all I owe just a card with my picture Yesterday was Thanksgiving, I took the Ford. as we did not intend to work and started with a load of Choc. Cigrettes, Cigars + etc for Etretat which is about 18 mi north of here, as you will notice if you have a map of France was going o take it up to one of our Y. Huts I guess I had to big a load for the tires as I had one - H of a time, had to blow outs, and in mud, raining to beat the band, didn't get back untill nearly three o'clock. But i have "thanks'" that I got back at all, just had time to put on my new uniform and go get my picture taken before dark. Then Pat and I lay around in the room, untill the other fellows came up and then we had our Thanksgiving dinner, there was twelve of us, at the hotel, and we had a ...

As far as I can tell, Grace never opened this letter, postmarked November 16, 1918. Even though it almost certainly contains Will's description of the Paris Armistice celebrations, I decided to leave it unopened. I've raided this time capsule enough to save a little bit for the future.

Excerpts from a letter dated November 11 and November 13, 1918 My Dear Grace – Well here I am dearie in Joe. Nelsons office, in Paris, the Armistice was signed sometime to-day, have not had time to find out and Paris is wild, it is now about 5: o’clock am going to have dinner with Joe, and then we are going out in the mob, and see the sights Isn’t it wonderful that I can be in Paris to-night, I don’t suppose I will ever be able to tell, all the things I will see, But they are just wild, I came up here from YMC.A Headquarts, and it was most impossible for the taxi to get thro’, every thing is shut up the offices, and stores, they have pulled the blinds down over the windows, so that the windows won’t get broke and every body is hollering yelling Blowing horns, just acting as crazy as they can I won’t have time to write very much now, as Joe will be thro shaving in a few minutes, But I will try and remember all I see and do to-night, so that I can tell you all about ...

Grace preserved a single letter from her father, dated November 4, 1918, along with her correspondence from Will.