Letters, written from the field in Europe, relating living and battle conditions; many in response to a campaign by the Normal School and Kirksville Rotary Club to see that Adair County soldiers received mail, some donated by the soldiers' families; nearly all were printed in the Kirksville Daily Express or Normal School Index.These letters were collected by Professor E. M. Violette, head of the History Department at the First District State Normal School (now Truman State University), for their historic value.

There are some editing marks on several of them corresponding to the shortened version appearing in the paper. All the mail from Europe went through the military censors, and most of them bear the stamp or signature of the censor; none of them appear to have had portions removed, however.

Folders S1 through Y1 are no longer available. They are listed in the finding aid because the entries contain information such as the soldier's rank, military unit, parents, home address and, occasionally, his location on a given date.