Primary Sources: World War I: Personal Sources

"This online exhibition of letters and audio, created by the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the Legacy Project, features correspondence from over 200 years of American conflicts, ranging from the Revolution to the war in Iraq. This exhibition uses the words of famous generals and lesser-known troops, as well as parents, sweethearts, and children, to explore such themes as leaving home, life in the military, the pride and worries of those left behind, and ultimate sacrifice. "

"The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project documents the contributions of women in the military and related service organizations since World War I. The project includes a wide range of source material including photographs, letters, diaries, scrapbooks, oral histories, military patches and insignia, uniforms, and posters, as well as published works."

"an online archive of the Canadian war experience, from any war, as told through the letters and images of Canadians themselves. It began in August 2000, located in the Department of History at Vancouver Island University."

Pioneers in Naval aviation discuss wartime experiences, emphasizing problems and accomplishments making the growth and combat testing of Naval aviation in World War I.
FedFlix on Internet Archives

Access first hand accounts from U.S. war vetrans. It currently covers the following: WWI (1914-1920), WWII (1939-1946), Korean War (1950-1955), Vietnam War (1961-1975), Persian Gulf War (1990-1995), Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts (2001-). Accounts are also provided by U.S. civilians who participated in the war effort (USO workers, war industry workers, etc.)

Interview of World War I veteran Jeppeson recorded in 1968 as a junior high school history project.
Available on the Internet Archive

"World War I-era postcards, letters, and memorabilia drawn from UNT's former museum, the Historical Collection. These digitized materials come from a larger tangible collection held by UNT Libraries Special Collections. "

The Europeana 1914-1918 project is managed and coordinated by the following institutions: Europeana, Europe's digital archive, library and museum, Oxford University and the German National Library.

"Ellen N. La Motte was one of the first American nurses to serve in a French field hospital during World War I.The Backwash of War, a series of fourteen vignettes of a French field hospital, recounting her 1915 service in Belgium, was first published in fall 1916, before American entry into the world war. Once the United States had entered the war, La Motte’s unsparing view of the devastation of war was suppressed by the pervasive national propaganda effort of the home front, and the publishers withdrew the book. Republished in 1934, the book found a new audience among Americans determined to avoid involvement in foreign wars. Included here is her introduction to the 1934 republication, which gave the book’s publishing history, and one of the sketches. "