“All men who have fought in this war will agree on one thing--that this is the last war we want to fight for some years to come.” (Memoir, page 1)

Longshaw Kraus Porritt

Longshaw Porritt in the field, Italy [1918] War: World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 Branch: Army; Navy Unit: American Ambulance Field Service; USS Corsair (SP 159); Naval Aviation Service Service Location: France; Italy; also: Connecticut; Atlantic Ocean; Bay of Biscay, France; Lacunae, France; Brest, France Rank: First Lieutenant; Quartermaster Third Class

During World War I, a conflict of extreme carnage, volunteer ambulance drivers played a key role in transporting the wounded from the battlefield and preventing additional deaths. One such driver was First Lieutenant Longshaw Porritt, a Connecticut native who enlisted in the American Ambulance Field Service in March 1917 before the United States had entered the war. Following a stint on the Western Front, he transferred to the Navy, and then went on to serve with the American Red Cross as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front. The 272 photographs in his collection offer a rare glimpse of the Italian side of World War I, while the assorted manuscripts tell another side of his own personal story--that of being unable to qualify for war benefits because his “official” military service lasted for less than 90 days.