Sergeant Irvin Schwartz shares how he learned the shocking news of President Roosevelt's death in April 1945.
Letters from War – Irvin Schwartz’s response to the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt – 1945
Letters from War – A photograph of the Nazi panzer destroyed by Irvin Schwartz in the Battle of the Bulge
In May 1945, the West Schuylkill Press-Herald published a photograph taken during the Battle of the Bulge showing a tank destroyed by Sgt. Irvin Schwartz.
Letters from War – A chippy letter in response to a fellow Pine Grove soldier serving in Italy – 1945
Sergeant Schwartz took offense to a comment from a soldier in Italy about the difference in fighting conditions between the Italian front and inside Nazi Germany.
Letters from War – “I believe the end is coming soon,” March 1945
In a March 1945 letter, Sgt. Irvin Schwartz shared insights about Nazi Germany's desperate "total war" efforts to turn back Allied attacks.
Letters from War – A letter from an army hospital describing wounds received in Germany – 1945
German artillery shells struck down Sergeant Irvin Schwartz on February 27, 1945. He wrote home to his parents to comfort them that he wasn't severely wounded.
Letters from War – Awarded the Bronze Star and wounded in action – 1945
In March 1945, Irvin Schwartz's hometown newspaper published news of his Bronze Star. A week later they shared the news he had been wounded.
Letters from War – Responding to letters from home and commenting on Pine Grove high school basketball – February 1945
Irvin Schwartz comments on the mail he's received from home in Pennsylvania and how letters that have nothing to do with the war were his favorites.
Letters from War – Receiving mail from friends and fellow servicemembers on the front line in Belgium (delayed) – 1945
A letter from the front lines in Belgium as the Battle of the Bulge raged in January 1945.
Letters from War – A note from the front lines to a World War I veteran in Pine Grove – February 1945
In a February 1945 letter to Harper Updegrave, Irvin Schwartz stated his intention to join the American Legion once he returned home from war.
Letters From War – The Battle of Dom Bütgenbach, December 21, 1944
In as much detail as he could get by US Army censors, Irvin Schwartz describes his unit's action in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.