Tom Ashley (1894-1918) of Deerfield, Massachusetts, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1917, the year that World War I began. His training began in Winthrop, Maryland, where he learned, among other things, how to shoot a rifle, a machine gun, and a pistol. In his letter he says that life in the Marine Corps suits him and that he and the others are eager to get to Europe to participate in the war, or, as he phrases it, “we are all anxious to get down to some real work and get across.”
Ashley, Thomas Williams. WWI Letter from Thomas Williams Ashley. ca. 1917. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-034/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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