American on the Western Front

The First World War Letters of Arthur Clifford Kimber, 1917-18

Fired by idealism, the young student Arthur Clifford Kimber initially acted as a volunteer ambulance driver in order to get to the front quickly. In a gripping first-hand account, including poignant descriptions of wartime Britain and memorable encounters with Theodore Roosevelt and Lillian Gish, it details Kimber's frustration as he seeks an active role—enrolling within months in the fledgling U.S. Air Force—and follows his hopes and dreams for what lies after the war. But, after taking part in dogfights against "the Boche," he died just a few weeks before the end of the war, on the opening day of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Kimber was one of the first Americans onto the front line and, tragically, was one of the last Americans to be buried. Here, his revelatory letters are published for the first time, along with his sketches.