This letter appeared in the November 11, 1931 edition of the Nashville Tennessean, and was written by our grandfather, William Sanford (W.S.) Morgan. Grandfather Morgan won an award for this 'best submission', probably due to General 'Black Jack' Pershing's immense popularity after the Great War.
On the evening of April 5, 1917, Grandfather Morgan and three other young men from Bumpus Mills, Tennessee drove all night to Saint Louis, Missouri in order to be the first in line to volunteer for the War (declared April 6, 1917). Grandfather Morgan would later claim to be "the first man to volunteer, from the Volunter State of Tennesee". He was very proud of his service, even though it shortened his life and caused him much pain and loss. Grandfather Morgan was gassed, shot, and left for dead in no-man's land. He survived this, but always had trouble breathing (lung damage) and died in 1954 with two german machine gun bullets lodged next to his spine (inside - inoperable). His future brother-in-law, Jesse Green Ford ('Cousin Green') was killed in Belgium, no-man's land, shortly before grandfather Morgan himself was hit.
The letter, as written by W.S. Morgan.
