"Words from the Wisconsin boys manning the trenches."

In 1918 a flood of American troops arrived in Europe and turned the tide of World War I in favor of the Allies. Dr. Carrie A. Meyer combed through newspapers of three towns in Green County, Wisconsin to recover stories hidden in letters several Wisconsin boys wrote while they were caught up in these events half a world away. From the terror of going "over the top" attacking an entrenched enemy, to pleasant afternoons enjoyed with French families miles away from the front, Meyer weaves a story representative and unique, touching and humorous, and reminds us that armies are made of individuals who seek to do their part and return to their families.

No literature in 1918 commanded more readers than the "letters from the boys" written home to loved ones and printed in newspapers across the country.