A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne: A Memoir, 1917-1918

A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne is a firsthand account of World War I through the eyes of an enlisted soldier. William S. Triplet was a seventeen-year-old junior in high school when, on April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked for a declaration of war. This declaration stirred the superintendent of schools in Triplet's hometown of Sedalia, Missouri, to make an emotional plea to all eligible students to join the army. "Any student who felt called upon to fight, bleed, and die for his country could receive his graduation diploma upon his return from the war". Triplet was eighteen months short of being of legal enlistment age, but the Army didn't check birth certificates. The appeal of the army's benefits -- room and board, travel, adventure, and fifteen dollars a month, plus knowing he would receive his high school diploma -- was too much for the young Triplet to pass up. thus began William S. Triplet's remarkable career in the U.S. Army, in which he served until his retirement as a brigadier general in 1954. In A Youth in the Meuse-Argonne, Triplet covers the early years of his service in Company D, 140th Regiment of the 35th Division, from the time of his enlistment in 1917 to his honorable discharge in 1919. During those years, Triplet participated in two major campaigns, the Mont-Saint-Michel and the Meuse-Argonne. With both elegance and a touch of humor, Triplet masterfully portrays the everyday life of the soldier, humanizing the men with whom he served. His vivid depictions of the horrendous battles in which the soldiers fought give the reader a much clearer view of the terrifying experiences of combat. In writing this memoir, Triplet relied heavily on a detailed diary that hekept while he was in Alsace in 1918. Through his annotations, Robert H. Ferrel provides the historical context for Triplet's firsthand experiences. The result is a compelling memoir that provides vast insight into the lives of the soldiers who served during World War I.