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Elliot Lee in uniform

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Ambulance Corps
  • Location of Service: France
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/39635

View full service history

"We raced for the next post with sparks flying all around us." (Memoir, page 4)

When the United States entered World War I, First Lieutenant Elliott Lee was a recent graduate of Princeton, and hoped to contribute to the war effort by becoming an officer in the Army--but at 6 foot, four and a half inches tall, he exceeded the maximum height for Officer Candidate School by half an inch. He was advised to join the U.S. Army Ambulance Corps, which had units soon to depart for France to be attached to the French Army. Working on the front during the Second Battle of the Marne in July 1918, he was eventually awarded three Croix de Guerre by the French government. His service to France did not end with World War I: following a career in business, he helped lead a relief organization dedicated to restoring the country after World War II.

[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

[ Memoir of Elliot H. Lee [1895-1990] ]
[ Letter in French from Eduard Motte [11/28/1952] ]
[ Letter from Eduard Motte [10/18/1952] ]
[ Letter from the Mayor of St. Lo to "Madame la Directrice", Director of the AATF [American Aid to France] [7/4/1950] ]
[ Letter to Robert Blake from William B. Olmsted, Jr. [5/21/1951] ]
[ Letter to General Dwight D. Eisenhower [9/29/1950] ]

Show more resources (39)

[ Letter to General Dwight D. Eisenhower [3/21/1950] ]
[ Letter to Drew Pearson [8/12/1949] ]
[ Memo from William Phillips detailing his experience in Normandy after D-Day and the founding of the AATF [American Aid to France] ]
[ Letter to Roger Seydoux, Consul General of France [2/9/1951] ]
[ Note from Edward Freehafer thanking Elliot H. Lee for the deposit of papers relating to AATF [American Aid to France] at the New York Public Library [1/27/1961] ]
[ Correspondence with Charles P. Taft and Mr. Sheets ]
[ Letter to Charles P. Taft including the minutes of the French Relief Fund [1/31/1944] ]
[ Letter from Mrs. David Randall-MacIver [12/18/1939] ]
[ Franco-American Association for Assistance to Artists, a list of American members and board of directors [n.d.] ]
[ A list of French members of the Franco-American Association for Assistance to Artists, list of members and board of directors [n.d.] ]
[ Biographical information for Elliot H. Lee ]
[ AATF [American Aid to France] Facts and Figures for 1950 ]
[ AATF [American Aid to France] Balance Sheet as of Dec. 31, 1949 ]
[ Newsletter written by Bill Flemer to the Princeton class of 1916 [8/23/1967] ]
[ List of officers and members of the National Committee for the Defense Against Tuberculosis ]
[ Text of a speech in French on the cooperation of the AATF [American Aid to France] and the French National Committee for the Defense Against Tuberculosis [6/27/1950] ]
[ Invitation and menu for a luncheon at the Hotel de France, 7/10/1950 ]
[ Record of payments by AATF [American Aid to France] in connection with the Saint-Lo hospital project [May 1951] ]
[ Pamphlett from the first annual meeting of the American Relief for France [3/29/1945] ]
[ Volume 59 No 1 of "Laurels", a journal of the American Society of the French Legion of Honor [Spring-Summer 1988] ]
[ Exhibit Catalogue, "Friends of France; The American Field Service with the French Armies 1914-1917, 1939-1945" ]
[ Artifacts, two Ambulance Service uniform patches with a rooster depicted on them ]
[ Memo concerning the Franco-American Memorial Hospital at Saint Lo, France [11/10/1953] ]
[ Minutes of the 64th regular meeting of the board of directors of AATF (American Aid to France, Inc.) [1/20/1954] ]
[ Annual Report of AATF (American Aid to France) [12/31/1950] ]
[ List of Officers and Board members of the AATF (American Aid to France) [12/31/1950] ]
[ Annual Report of AATF (American Aid to France) [12/31/1949] ]
[ Minutes of the 45th regular meeting of the board of directors of AATF (American Aid to France, Inc.) [3/24/1949] ]
[ Annual Report of AATF (American Aid to France) [12/31/1948] ]
[ Annual Report of AATF (American Aid to France) [12/31/1947] ]
[ The Story of AATF (American Aid to France) [1945-1946] ]
[ Condensed Annual Report of AATF (American Aid to France) [12/31/1946] ]
[ Pamphlett, "A wreath is not enough" ]
[ The 1945-46 Budget of the National War Fund ]
[ Note from E.H. Lee [n.d.] ]
[ A brief review of the organization of French relief in the United States 1939-1946 ]
[ Letter from L. Hollingsworth Wood [6/16/1944] ]
[ Letter to L. Hollingsworth Wood [6/15/1944] ]
[ Meeting minutes of the French Relief Fun, Inc. [5/13/1943] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Elliott Hugh Lee Collection

Names

  • Ballenger, Nancy
  • Lee, Elliott Hugh

Home State

  • New Jersey

Headings

  • -  Lee, Elliott Hugh
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Ambulance Corps
    • Location of Service: France
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1915
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Book [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [2 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1952)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1918)
  • Artifact: Artifact [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Periodicals [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1919-02-01)
  • Manuscript: Unit histories [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1988)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [55 items] -- Photograph (collected 1895-1971)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [11 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/39635

Cite as

  • Elliott Hugh Lee Collection (AFC/2001/001/39635), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

Home State

Interviewee

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Ballenger, Nancy, and Elliott Hugh Lee. Elliott Hugh Lee Collection. 1915. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.39635/.

APA citation style:

Ballenger, N. & Lee, E. H. (1915) Elliott Hugh Lee Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.39635/.

MLA citation style:

Ballenger, Nancy, and Elliott Hugh Lee. Elliott Hugh Lee Collection. 1915. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.39635/>.