Edward B. Van Zile family correspondence and other material

The Edward B. Van Zile family correspondence and other material contain the letters and some objects of American World War I soldier Edward Bulkeley Van Zile (1888-1963), and a few items of his father Edward Sims Van Zile (1863-1931). Most of the letters by Edward B. Van Zile, which date from June 1916 to December 1919, detail his correspondence to his family while fighting for the Allied forces. Throughout his letters, he writes primarily to his mother and father, relaying his experiences as a soldier. He tells stories of fellow soldiers, describes the new places he is traveling, and details his experiences both at camps and on the front lines. He writes to his uncle, aunt, and sisters as well, though less frequently. His letters also typically end with a plea to his family to write to him – he often says how much he enjoys receiving their letters. Amongst the letters are pieces of narrative writing – one-act plays and pages of fiction writing. These literary creations are always centered on soldier life and seem to be drawn from Van Zile’s own wartime experiences. Van Zile participated in the Mexican Campaign against revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa, spent time in Kansas and Texas, and went overseas to France, where he was wounded during the Meuse-Argonne offensive in October of 1918. He wrote a fourteen-page account, titled “The Experience of an American Soldier Wounded at the Front in the Argonne Fighting,” which detailed his injury and his experience of being taken off the battlefield and treated at a military hospital. The remainder of his letters recount his time spent at French hospitals before he was transferred to Camp Upton in Long Island, New York. His last dated letters are from June 1919, and the subject of many involve Van Zile anxiously awaiting his furlough.

One of the realia objects within the collection is a U.S. Army cap owned by Edward B. Van Zile. It is decorated with pins and ribbons, including one honoring his service in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. There is also a framed document honoring his promotion to corporal in 1917.

The items belonging Edward Sims Van Zile are an edited manuscript, "Contacts with the Famous" and a framed letter signed by Theodore Roosevelt on August 4, 1916. The short, typed letter by Roosevelt contains praises of Van Zile’s character and seems to be a letter of recommendation of sorts.