Irvin Schwartz's vivid description in a letter home to Schuylkill County describes the horror of the Battle of Aachen in October 1944.
Letters from War – “Our Battle for Aachen,” 1944
Letters from War – Holiday greetings from the front lines in Nazi Germany, November 1944
Desperate to share Christmas cheer and hopes for a happy New Year, Pfc. Irvin Schwartz wished holiday greetings to friends and family through the newspaper.
Letters from War – The first letter from inside Hitler’s crumbling “Third Reich,” October 1944
In his first letter from inside Germany, Pfc. Irvin Schwartz describes interactions with residents of newly occupied Nazi territory.
Letters from War – Checking in with the staff of the Press-Herald from Belgium, September 1944
The young soldier from Pine Grove, PA checked in with his former boss at the West Schuylkill Press-Herald in early fall 1944.
Letters from War – Dining with a French family before returning to the front lines, September 1944
A fascinating letter from Pfc. Irvin Schwartz about dining with a French family after liberation of their town.
Letters from War – A letter to the Schwartz family at home in Schuylkill County, August 1944
Irvin Schwartz's letter to his family in Schuylkill County was printed in the West Schuylkill Press-Herald in the summer of 1944.
Letters from War – Witnessing a massive bombing raid and fighting near Saint-Lô, 1944
In a letter to the West Schuylkill Press-Herald, Irvin Schwartz describes the chaos and carnage of a bombing raid in France.
Letters from War – Scenes at a joyous party in liberated Normandy, August 1944
As a French town fell to Irvin Schwartz's 26th Infantry Regiment, he documented the amusing scenes he witnessed among celebrating French civilians.
Letters from War – Receiving letters and picking up war souvenirs in France, July 1944
In this short letter from July 1944, Schwartz thanks the editor of the Press-Herald and comments on the souvenirs he picked up in France.
Letters from War – Reflections on D-Day and the fighting in Normandy, June 1944
Pfc. Irvin Schwartz wrote home to Schuylkill County in June 1944 to celebrate the work of his hometown newspaper in their coverage of D-Day.
