In George Browne: An American Soldier in World War I, an edited volume is presented of the letters of a WWI soldier. The soldier is Corporal George Browne and he was in the 117th Engineers, 42nd division. He was twenty-three years old when he was sent to civil engineer who decided to enlist in defense of his country once America entered WWI. The letters are intended to present a very human perspective of the war and how his experiences of the war were affected by very real emotions. One of the focal point of the letters is the love story of Browne and his girl Martha Johnson within the context of his training and deployment to France. The couple ended up getting married and the book contains two photographs of their relationship. The letters are brought together by the editor also with descriptions of the military maneuvers and historical context of the letter writers travails. By using a diary, the editor brings together a primary source that makes the war experience very vivid and human.
In all, the book has six chapters plus an introduction and conclusion. The first chapter deals with his training in the United States and is seen primarily in the details that he is writing to his fiancé. It gives the physical training that he had to undergo as well as the mental training and how he learned about the various technical aspects that would be needed in the war. Not long after his training had started, he is sent abroad to France where he would prepare to fight the Germans. He was sent to the Quiet Sector of France where he would undergo more training. The next parts of the book take on a new character. George Browne is no longer being prepared for battle from the peaceful confines of non-war zones but now is actually thrust into the war. He fights in battles at Champagne and the Battle of the Ourcq River as well as part of the famous Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The Meuse-Argonne offensive was important to the Allied push to win World War I. It encompassed the entire western front and was fought all the way until the agreement was signed to end the war on November 11th, 1918. Many people died in this battle but it was a pivotal battle in ending the war once and for all. The editor of the book intersperses this chapter adequate historical background, which gives the reader the necessary foundation to understand the letters.
His relationship with Martha is a very clear strand running through the book. The letters written by Browne reveal the very real costs of battle and the way that love can affect the soldier who sits wondering about his future. He constantly is writing to his fiancé at home, whom he misses dearly. The book has him telling her about what is happening with him but also expressing that he misses her and that he mourns for their distance. The book also highlights how their relationship had withstood the test of time and they were together well after war had ended and Browne had returned home. The editor includes this historical research because it allows the individual case of the soldier to be situated in a larger picture. The book concludes with the ending of the war and the solider coming home, showing two pictures of the husband and wife later in life in the 1960’s. This very human ending to the book brings the tale full-circle. It shows how the love story that the reader had anxiously followed throughout the war had survived and they were allowed to live their life out, despite the difficult circumstances he had faced. The book also includes an appendix, which gives details to the division that Browne belonged in such as the number of soldiers and a chronology of their movements throughout the battles and wars.
Overall, the book was very interesting and provides a very human portrait of the war. The editor allowed the letters to speak for themselves throughout the work. They were left grammatically poor and poorly written. While this was a little distracting at points, it also allowed for an unfiltered view of the war from the eyes of this solider. It was through these letters that one comes to view the war as outside the triumphant narratives that are often used to recount war. It shows that it was not a grand triumph of the western powers in a grand war but one that affected people on a very real and human level. Browne was not preoccupied by larger patriotic goals or the grand strategy of Woodrow Wilson but often consumed by the fact of dealing with the war while also dealing with his love and the absence that made his heart grow fonder. However, the editor also includes adequate historical background that allows the letters to be situated in the broader context. The story of the individual is brought in tandem with the larger story of the war. This shows the interesting relationship between individuals and the larger tale of World War I and shows that the two should not be understood as completely separate. In all, the editor did historians and students alike a great service by including these letters into an edited compilation that give the reader a greater view into the very human circumstances of WWI.
Overall, this work is a valuable addition to the historiography and shows that diaries can be more powerful and vivid than other forms of history writing. Rather than just presenting facts or an argument, it brings to light the emotional experience of war and the very human concerns that occupy the minds of soldiers. The work is not that atypical, as other similar diaries are common, but this provides insights into many key battles and moments.
Works Cited:
George E. Browne, An American Soldier in World War I, ed. David L. Snead Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2006.
