"Sherman was right when he said war was hell." Private Luke Higgins of Pottsville, PA wrote home to his sister from the front lines of France during World War I. In his letter, he described hellish scenes of dead bodies, artillery barrages, and mud everywhere as the American Expeditionary Force launched an offensive. Read the full story.
"Over here you don't see any baseball. Soccer is the game." Clarence Morgan of Port Carbon, PA wrote home to his mother and shared that he had tried playing soccer, but quickly learned he preferred American football to the "beautiful game." Read more.
From Shenandoah, PA to a rain-soaked military hospital in France, Bugler Joseph A. Nicholas writes of a shattered leg, ether, exhaustion, and pride at going “over the top” in the Meuse-Argonne during WW1. He survived to come home, but his letter holds the war’s ache and grit in every line. Read the full story.
On November 11, 1918, news of the armistice ending World War I reached Pennsylvania’s Coal Region, sparking joyous celebrations. As peace finally arrived after four brutal years, local headlines announced the end of the conflict, and parades filled the streets. Explore these historic Coal Region newspaper stories marking the conclusion of the Great War. Read the full story and the headlines.