Scope and Content
The LeRoy Feay Thompson collection documents the veteran’s United States Army service during World War I. Spanning 1918-2011, the collection includes correspondence, printed matter, transcripts, digital prints and an optical disc.
The bulk of the collection consists of 48 letters from Thompson to his parents dating 1918-1919. Two additional letters from Blanche Fowler and Sue Campbell to Thompson’s mother are also included. Topics covered include cleanliness of training camp; food in the military; buying a life insurance policy; duties of Signal Corps; vaccinations; mistaken discharge; receiving Armour Comfort Box; trench radio training; movie lectures; personal finances; semaphore; trip to Washington, DC; gender relations; preparing to deploy overseas; washing socks and underwear; price of cigarettes in Europe; dividends from stocks; staying in hay loft; New Year’s Eve celebration in Europe; cooties; strong cheese in Europe; Époisses, France; Y.M.C.A.; Flavigny Radio School; getting deloused; receiving Christmas presents; eggs; descriptions of radio operations; magazines and books from Red Cross; drawing; and a New York Herald article about the American Expeditionary Force. Additionally, numerous letters include references to fellow soldiers, both at Fort Leavenworth and in France.
Thompson also acquired 29 postcards of French towns, landscapes, statues, and chateaus. Postcards document Époisses, France; Semur, France; the Vercingétorix monument; Château de Chastellux; Pierre-Perthuis, France; Château de Bourbilly; and various other scenes of early 20th century French communes and towns. The collection also includes transcriptions of the 50 letters, which were compiled and edited by Thompson's grandchild. A biographical note regarding Thompson’s parents and brother, Glenn, who also served during World War I, is located at the beginning of the transcriptions. Digital images include two photographs, one of an unidentified man kneeling and another with two men on a porch swing. The optical disc contains electronic files of the transcriptions, digital prints and printed matter.