From Camp Lee to the Great War: Episode 56 [August 6, 1918]

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott & Charles Riggle

"When you answer write a big long letter and tell me all the news...." In his thirty-eight letter home (and his first from France), to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, doesn't have much of substance to say, probably in part because of security restrictions on what he can write. He's in good health. He saw Will Riggle. It's raining in France. And, like Charles Riggle [see our August 1 episode], he wishes he could attend the Jacktown Fair. Mostly he just wants all the news from home. Elsewhere on the same day, the Second Battle of the Marne ended, the British Government issued a Declaration to the people of Russia, promising that they will not interfere in Russian politics, and Ferdinand Foch was named Marshal of France. Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his thirty-eighth letter home, dated 100 years ago today, August 6, 1918. Digital scans and a transcript of Lester Scott's August 6, 1918 letter can be viewed at: http://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/from-camp-lee-to-the-great-war-august-6-1918-podcast Credits: "From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle" is brought to you by http://archivingwheeling.org in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (http://www.ohiocountylibrary.org) and the WALS Foundation (http://walswheeling.com). Jeremy Richter is the voice of Lester Scott. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler. Music: "Love Will Find A Way," The Seven Black Dots (performer), 1921, courtesy Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010774/ Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.