Materials created and collected by Hugh E. Mosher (of Roanoke, Va.), who served in Co. B, First Battalion, 602nd Engineers Regiment of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. Contain diaries, 1918-1919, and correspondence, 1918-1948, as well as an undated memoir of his service in France and Germany. Also contain correspondence of Mosher's mother, Louisa "Lula" (Upshaw) Mosher. The diaries, kept while Mosher was serving in France and Germany, contain brief entries describing his trip to France, life on the frontlines, and his encounter with French peasants and German prisoners of war, shortages of food, drunkenness among the troops, his teaching English to a Madamoiselle Adele Guyer, Catholic and Jewish soldiers in his regiment, and his service after the war (including the Americans closing cabarets in Germany and Mosher's encounter with a supposed female vampire in Wittlich, Germany). The correspondence is chiefly with family members and former service mates. Of particular interest is a letter, 1948, written by a German family Mosher had befriended, concerning their need for food and clothing after World War II, and including their regret about Germany following Hitler into the war (letter is in German, with an English translation). The memoir describes Mosher's experiences while serving in World War I, including his role in the Meuse-Argonne campaign in the fall of 1918 and his service in Germany after the war. The memoir contains direct transcriptions of material found in Mosher's wartime diaries, but also expands upon some entries and contains a four-page introduction as well as a brief conclusion. Correspondence, 1918-1919, of Louisa "Lula" (Upshaw) Mosher is chiefly with young women serving in the military and discusses their nursing training and experiences.
