History buffs will know Carroll from his previous books including War Letters, Behind the Lines, and Here Is Where, and his personal mission to rescue combat-related correspondence, resulting in his founding of The Center for American War Letters.

In My Fellow Soldiers, he tells the story of America’s involvement in World War I by constructing a narrative timeline with General John Pershing as its backbone. Not surprisingly, he does this by turning to Pershing’s letters, which reveal a very different version of a man mostly regarded as stern and unflinching.

But this is far from a biography. Constantly interlacing with Pershing’s tale are snippets of letters and experiences from a wide array of other American participants. Some were fellow soldiers (e.g., Patton, MacArthur) while some were unknowns who would later become famous (e.g., Truman). Perhaps the most compelling are those we rarely hear from – African American soldiers and nurses, for instance – and Carroll devotes particular attention to them.

Those with a sanitized, movie version of World War I in their minds will also be confronted with the gritty realities of trench and chemical warfare, the designated “jaw ward” of hospitals, and recovery of remains after armistice.

The end result is a fascinating and humanizing overview of WWI and, one hopes, a healthy respect for our grandfathers and great-grandmothers who served.

The post My Fellow Soldiers: General John Pershing and the Americans Who Helped Win the Great War appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

The December edition of Irish Lives Remembered Genealogy FREE eMag is now LIVE
Irish Genealogy Magazines – FREE to view

For the genealogist who has everything
Ellis Island Barbie!

That awkward moment when Santa Claus becomes your father-in-law . . .
Boy Sits on Santa’s Lap, Realizes It’s Father-in-Law 15 Years Later

Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing with Megan Smolenyak

Some familiar names in here!
Tracing Your Roots Via DNA Testing Is Getting Cheaper and Easier – WSJ.com

Please consider “liking” the page of author and historian, Andrew Carroll!

The post Genealogy Round Up, December 13 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.