302nd Field Artillery memoirs book coming out this year

[24th_infantry]

I figured I would post this as a little teaser. A brand new book following the life of a WWI soldier in the 302nd Field Artillery will be coming out at the end of the year. This book was written by me and a good friend of mine. It takes the reader on a journey back to World War One. Beginning with what life was like in New Haven, CT during the war years. It then follows Private Ernest Stevens from basic training (the difficulties of learning new ways of living, weeks without proper uniforms and weapons, quarantine in quarters), troop movement on the ship to Europe, life in the AEF, living in the trenches and being bombarded with shells and gas, the destruction of villages, demobilization of the unit, and eventually coming home.

 

The book is based on original letters written by Stevens and kept by his mother (she kept every letter he wrote, including three she sent him but were returned to her because he was on the ship to Europe). In addition, I used information from newspapers and a unit history book from 1920 based on his unit.

 

I currently have a printed rough copy, however I will be going to Camp Devens Museum in Ayer, MA. This is were Stevens trained. I will be taking photos of the grounds where the building use to stand based on maps I have and descriptions Stevens wrote in letters.

 

So far the book is about 220 pages but will be a little longer once everything is finalized.

 

My goal of writing this was to preserve the memories of this veteran, write about my home State and write a historical book which makes it seem like you are reading letters from a soldier, not a history text book. Hopefully students, especially youth will read this and get fixated as if they are reading letters from a friend.

 

I hope you find this interesting. If you have questions, comments or concerns please message me. I'm actually going to print a few more rough drafts in the next month so I can take notes in one and maybe hand out some for critiques. Thanks for checking this out!