Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Louis W. Rosen Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Headquarters Company, 306th Field Artillery Regiment, 77th Infantry Division; 88th Aero Squadron; 496th Aero Squadron; 102nd Photographic Section
- Location of Service: New York; New Jersey; Massachusetts; France
- Highest Rank: Corporal
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/91520
Described by his son as a "basement inventor," Louis W. Rosen developed a mechanical device for automatic movement of film, and after being drafted into the Army, he hoped to serve with a photographic section in France. Instead, he spent much of the war repairing telephone lines with the 77th Infantry Division, securing temporary duty in a photographic unit only as the war was nearing an end. In two lengthy letters to his parents, written shortly after the armistice and later collected in his memoir, he describes life on the front, living under constant threat of enemy artillery, mustard gas and aerial attacks. While Rosen survived the war uninjured, he had many close calls, noting, "Very often would I witness a shell land in a spot where I had been only a short while before."
More Resources
About this Item
Title
- Louis W. Rosen Collection
Names
- Rosen, Louis W.
- Rosen, Lester H.
Headings
- - Rosen, Louis W.
- - 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: Headquarters Company, 306th Field Artillery Regiment, 77th Infantry Division; 88th Aero Squadron; 496th Aero Squadron; 102nd Photographic Section
- Location of Service: New York; New Jersey; Massachusetts; France
- Highest Rank: Corporal
- Dates of Service: 1918-1919
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran also assigned as stenographer for Colonel Joseph Morrow, chief of the Air Service, Third Army Corps, while stationed in France, 12/28/1918 to mid 01/1919.
Materials
- Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 2012-12-12)
- Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2012)
- Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1919-02)
- Manuscript: Creative works [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1918-11-11)
- Manuscript: Maps [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1918)
- Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [7 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1917-1919)
- Photograph: Photocopy of Photographic Print [9 items] -- Photograph (collected 1917-1919)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/91520
Cite as
- Louis W. Rosen Collection (AFC/2001/001/91520), 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
- 102nd Photographic Section
- 306th Field Artillery Regiment
- 496th Aero Squadron
- 77th Infantry Division
- 88th Aero Squadron
- Headquarters Company