American Experience: War Letters

Airs Monday, May 30, 2011 at 10:30 p.m. on KPBS TV

U.S. artilleryman sits on the ground writing, World War I; March 7, 1918

Credit: Courtesy of National Archives

Above: U.S. artilleryman sits on the ground writing, World War I; March 7, 1918

Thursday, May 26, 2011

In every American war from the Revolutionary War to the Persian Gulf War, American military men and women have captured the horror, pathos and intensity of warfare by writing letters home. Tens of thousands of these letters have been handed down from generation to generation.

Our History Of War

Explore a timeline of U.S. military actions and wars, 1775 - 1994.

Featured Letters

Some excerpts from the letters in Andy Carroll's book, "War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars," are dramatized in the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE film. Read each excerpt to find out more about the letter writer, and what happened to him or her at the end of the war.

Resources In Your State

Chances are you and your family have old war letters or other family artifacts. These things are not only of personal value, but may be of historic significance to your community as well. Want to find out more? Across the nation, military history museums, historical societies and other organizations are dedicated to collecting, displaying, and preserving the past. Learn about resources near you.

In an effort to preserve this correspondence, writer Andrew Carroll set up the Legacy Project and has collected thousands of war letters. Using the most compelling and enlightening of these missives, "War Letters" tells the story of American wars from the viewpoint of the men and women in the front lines.

The film features breathtaking eyewitness accounts of famous battles, intimate declarations of love, poignant last letters written only days before soldiers were killed, humorous anecdotes, gripes about insufferable conditions and many profound and memorable expressions of exhilaration, fear, whimsy, exasperation, anger, and patriotism.

To highlight the universal experience of war -- the horror and loneliness, the senseless killing and terrible destruction -- "War Letters" intercuts letters written 200 years ago with those written in the last few decades. It weaves evocative recreations of Civil War battles with moving footage of World War II amphibious assaults.

The words of the letters in "War Letters" are full of poetry, compassion, humor, determination, and raw emotion. Ultimately, they transcend the subject of war and concern some of the most powerful contradictions of the human condition.

Video

Preview: American Experience: War Letters

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Video

War Letters: Interview with Linda Edquist

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Above: In her work as a conservation specialist at the National Postal Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Linda Edquist has worked to preserve countless letters and other objects in the museum's enormous collection. How can you use some conservation techniques on your letters at home? Watch Linda demonstrate, in this video interview.

Video

War Letters: Interview with Andy Carroll

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Above: Andy Carroll is the founder and director of the Legacy Project, a national, all-volunteer organization that works to honor and remember those who have served this nation in wartime by seeking out and preserving their letters. He is also the author of "War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from America's Wars," the compilation of letters that inspired the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE documentary. Find out more about Andy's interest in preserving letters and hear some of the behind-the-scenes stories of the Legacy Project, in a video interview.

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