Walter L Strawhun

Mud, Blood and Strawberries Walter L Strawhun

Corporal Walter Strawhun enlisted in the US Army in June 1917 as the United States was declaring war on the Central Powers during World War I. He obtained a diary and a camera early in his enlistment and kept a written and photographic record through his basic training and throughout the war as seen through the eyes of a truck driver in the 1st Division, American Expeditionary Force. He was one of the earliest to arrive in France and was one of the last US soldiers to leave the Army of Occupation of Germany in 1919. Nicknamed "Strawberries", he managed to keep his diary while driving throughout France during the war and in Luxembourg and Germany after the Armistice. In addition to keeping his diary, he kept his sense of humor while being stuck in dozens of muddy roads and ditches, and while trying to sleep through German bombs and while eating a cat for Sunday dinner at the home of French citizens. His diary is supplemented by dozens of photos that he took with an old, beat-up camera and developed in his pup tent on the back of any cardboard he could find. Although we don't have a record of the letters that were written to him, his sweetheart, who eventually became his wife, kept his letters to her so there is additional information of his experiences while fighting in the War to End All Wars. His grandson, LTC Robert T. Berry has transcribed the diary, enhanced the photos, included the letters home and added information and maps as to the progress of the war while it was raging in France. For the WWI enthusiasts who have read about the war from the perspective of analysts and generals, this work provides a perspective of an guy from the Midwest trying to do his duty while driving as truck, dodging bombs and witnessing the horrid of the war.