Thursday, June 17, 2010

"Somewhere Over There"

Postcard sent to my grandfather in Europe during World War I. Using many other postcards with similar messages sent to him, I'm confident in saying the year was 1918. The last digit of the postmark is missing—apparently it was stamped on the now-missing stamp.

C O L L E C T I O N — Next time you're emailing, tweeting, using Skype, or texting on your iPhone, think about this postcard, and life nearly one hundred years ago. The sender included my grandfather's name and rank, an incorrect Infantry group, A. E. F. (American Expeditionary Forces), and 'somewhere over there." Someone, somewhere, in the postal system added "Prov. Co. MP, 82nd Division" and he received it. Perhaps it was the Christmas spirit. Click the image to read the period message.

B T W : 
I've started transcribing my grandfather's letters home from his time at boot camp, and in Europe during WW1. I'm also in possession of all of the letters he received from people back home, both relatives and friends. There is quite an interesting story in them, well stories in them. I have hundreds of photographs, magazines and postcards from this period as well. I'm not sure if all of it will end up being a book, or a part of a book, but since there is no one left to care about the almost 200 years of family "stuff" I've managed to hold onto, it's up to me to make sense of it all.

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