From a Soldier Boy, September 1, 1917

September 1, 2017

One hundred years ago today, Dale County native Tullie Marcus Dean wrote a letter home to his family from Camp Mills in Long Island, N.Y. Four days earlier, Dean and his fellow National Guardsmen departed from Union Station in Montgomery for training in New York and then to the faraway battlefields of France. In the letter, Dean details what was likely his first trip northward from Alabama and the many sights and landmarks he encountered along the way. He served in Company G of the 167th Infantry Regiment, which would become part of the storied "Rainbow Division" during WWI.

This letter was published in the Southern Star newspaper in Ozark. It is one of many letters from Dale County WWI soldiers now on view in the Ozark-Dale County Public Library's WWI display. Special thanks to Berta Blackwell and Donna Snell of Ozark for sharing this terrific item with us.