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This diary is that of Carroll Crosby, an American who served in World War I in France during 1918. The small book is approximately 5"x3", bound in worn black leather, and has fading gold leafed pages.
Carroll Crosby began using this diary on January 1, 1918, and continued to write through December 27, 1918. During this time, he detailed his experience in the 26th "Yankee" Division, and wrote every single day, with the exception of July 13. This brief lapse in writing most likely occurred due to the action his regiment experienced at this time.
July was a difficult month for Crosby and the 26th Division. His company experienced around 30 casualties resulting from shelling barrages and gas attacks. Many men also fell ill, including Crosby himself. On July 27th, he was sent to a Red Cross hospital with bronchitis. He stayed there for the remainder of the War.
Crosby writes with very little emotion, in spite of the horrors he wittnessed. Even on November 11, the day the War officially ended, he merely writes "Armistice was signed today. Every body [sic] happy especially the French." One woud expect a soldier to be elated by the end of the War. However, this is not the case. Rather, he mentions it merely in passing. Perhaps Carroll Crosby's lack of emotion in his diary comes from the same sort of numbness felt by V.A.D. nurse Vera Brittain in her memoir, Testament of Youth. Aside from Vera Brittain, Crosby's diary also shares similarities with Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. In all three of these works, the people who lived through the War experience its effects long after November 11, 1918.
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France
United States of America